BV  4010  . B47 

Beebe,  James  Albert,  1878- 
The  pastoral  office 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2019  with  funding  from 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Library 


https://archive.org/details/pastoralofficeinOObeeb 


THE 

PASTORAL  OFFICE 


An  Introduction  to 
The  Work  of  a  Pastor 

By  1/  \A 

JAMES  ALBERT  BEEBE 

Dean  and  Professor  of  Practical  Theology 
Boston  University  School  of  Theology 


THE  METHODIST  BOOK  CONCERN 

NBW  YORK  CINCINNATI 


Copyright,  1923,  by 
JAMES  ALBERT  BEEBE 


All  rights  reserved,  including  that  of  translation  into  foreign 
languages,  including  the  Scandinavian 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


CONTENTS 

SECTION  I 
WORSHIP 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  The  Significance  of  Worship .  9 

II.  Ideals  of  Worship .  20 

III.  Materials  of  Worship— Music .  36 

IV.  Materials  of  Worship — Prayers .  53 

V.  Materials  of  Worship— Lessons,  Announcements, 

Offering .  69 

VI.  Materials  of  Worship— Sermon  and  Benediction..  76 

VII.  The  Sunday  Evening  Service .  88 

VIII.  Mid-Week  Services .  94 

IX.  Liturgical  Services .  102 

SECTION  II 
ADMINISTRATION 

X.  Importance  of  Organization .  117 

XI.  Principles  of  Administration . .  12 1 

XII.  Plans  of  Organization .  133 

XIII.  The  Administration  of  Worship .  138 

XIV.  The  Administration  of  Evangelism .  142 

XV.  The  Administration  of  Religious  Education .  158 

XVI.  The  Administration  of  Service— The  Church  Family  172 

XVII.  The  Administration  of  Service — The  Local  Com¬ 
munity .  180 

XVIII  The  Administration  of  Service — The  World  Com¬ 
munity .  203 

XIX.  The  Administration  of  Finance .  210 

XX.  Church  Records .  220 

XXI.  Church  Publicity .  225 

XXII.  Church  Buildings .  231 

XXIII.  The  Church  Survey .  236 

SECTION  III 
PASTORAL  RELATIONS 

XXIV.  The  Call  to  the  Ministry .  245 

XXV.  The  Minister's  Study .  257 

XXVI.  Pastoral  Visiting .  273 

N.  XXVII.  Minor  Ministerial  Ethics .  291 


FOREWORD 


No  apology  is  made  for  the  elementary  character  of  this 
book.  It  is  intended  to  be  not  the  last  but  merely  the  first 
word  spoken  to  young  men  contemplating  a  ministerial 
career,  an  “Introduction  to  the  Work  of  a  Pastor,”  as  its 
title  declares.  While  it  has  been  written  primarily  for  min¬ 
isters  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  it  is  hoped  that 
much  in  the  book  will  be  valuable  for  a  wider  circle. 

Moreover,  an  introduction  should  be  comprehensive  as 
well  as  elementary,  bringing  into  view  the  whole  task  rather 
than  emphasizing  disproportionately  certain  special  phases. 
The  writer  has  attempted  to  present  a  balanced  statement 
of  the  entire  work  of  the  church  and  the  methods  to  be 
employed,  not  in  the  exceptional,  but  in  the  average  com¬ 
munity.  Necessarily  the  treatment  of  each  subject  is  brief. 

I  have  been  encouraged  in  the  task  of  composition  by  the 
Commission  on  Courses  of  Study,  at  whose  invitation  the 
writing  was  first  begun.  Individual  members  of  the  Com¬ 
mission  have  made  valuable  suggestions  which  have  been 
incorporated  into  the  volume.  I  am  especially  grateful  to 
Bishop  Edwin  H.  Hughes,  D.D.,  LL.D. ;  Professor  Harris 
Franklin  Rail,  Ph.D. ;  and  Professor  Lindsay  B.  Longacre, 
Ph.D.,  for  having  read  parts  of  the  manuscript,  and  to  the 
Rev.  Charles  R.  Bair,  D.D.,  for  detailed  literary  criticism  of 
the  entire  composition.  My  debt  is  very  large  to  nearly  all 
the  important  contributions  to  the  literature  of  this  subject 
in  English.  I  am  grateful  to  the  authors  and  titles  men¬ 
tioned  in  footnotes,  especially  to  Washington  Gladden’s 
The  Christian  Pastor,  which  stands  as  the  most  impressive 
description  of  the  work  of  the  Protestant  minister  in  more 
than  a  quarter  of  a  century.  The  patience  and  kindness, 
however,  of  five  churches  which  I  have  served  as  pastor, 

5 


6 


FOREWORD 


namely,  Summerset,  and  Highland  Park  (Des  Moines), 
Iowa;  Newport,  and  Saint  Paul’s  (Manchester),  New 
Hampshire ;  and  Englewood,  Chicago,  have  taught  me  more 
than  many  books. 

J.  A.  B. 

Boston,  April  I,  1923. 


SECTION  I 


WORSHIP 


CHAPTER  I 


THE  SIGNIFICANCE  OF  WORSHIP 

Modern  communities  will  support  generously  only  those 
institutions  which  serve  them  in  a  large  way.  Can  the 
church  justify  its  appeal  for  maintenance  on  this  ground? 
It  conducts  “services”  indeed,  but  is  this  “service”?  To 
feed  the  poor,  find  work  for  the  unemployed,  provide 
lunches  for  underfed  school  children  is  service.  But  most 
churches  do  little  of  this.  They  merely  gather  people  to¬ 
gether  for  prayer,  and  praise,  and  instruction  in  religious 
subjects.  And  not  a  few  arise  to  inquire  if  any  vital  need 
is  met  by  such  exercises.  What  can  be  said  in  reply  to  the 
charge  that  ministers  and  other  religious  workers  are  para¬ 
sites  on  society  who  live  off  the  labor  of  others  without 
contributing  to  the  common  supply  of  wealth?  Clearly,  we 
must  be  able  to  assure  ourselves  concerning  the  value  of 
public  worship. 

We  may  remark,  in  the  first  instance,  that  worship  is 
a  necessary  expression  of  man’s  sense  of  the  Infinite.  Given 
a  belief  in  God,  prayer  is  man’s  instinctive  response  to  that 
belief.  And  this  belief  is  universal.  “Go  back  as  far  as 
history  extends  and  man  is  religious.  .  .  .  The  pre-historic 
remains  in  Europe  and  elsewhere,  as  far  as  they  prove  any¬ 
thing,  show  man  possessed  of  certain  ideas  and  performing 
certain  acts  which  give  strong  evidence  of  being  religious.”1 
Worship  then  appears  inevitable.  By  the  very  constitution 
of  their  being  men  relate  themselves  to  the  invisible  world 
of  spirit  and  power  which  lies  behind  the  temporal  order. 
They  provide  for  worship  as  naturally  and  instinctively  as 
they  provide  for  supplies  of  water  and  food.  This  was 
noted  long  ago  by  a  pagan  historian,  Plutarch:  “You  will, 

^Edmund  D.  Soper,  The  Religions  of  Mankind,  p.  27. 

9 


10 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


perchance,  light  upon  cities  without  gates,  without  a  thea¬ 
ter,  and  without  a  palace ;  but  you  will  find  no  city  without 
a  temple.”  “i\s  the  hart  panteth  after  the  waterbrooks,  so 
panteth  my  soul  after  thee,  O  God,”  is  ever  the  cry  of  man 
famished  for  the  Infinite.  That  an  exceptional  person  here 
and  there  seldom  expresses  this  hunger  for  God  does  not 
affect  the  general  fact.  He  only  emphasizes  the  normal  by 
showing  how  far  he  varies  from  it. 

Again,  reflect  upon  the  value  of  worship  as  a  method  of 
renewing  moral  and  spiritual  forces.  Who  has  not  grown 
weary  in  well-doing?  Who  does  not  know  what  it  means 
to  have  his  margin  of  self-control  grow  perilously  narrow? 
Who  does  not  find  his  confidence  weakening  in  the  worth¬ 
whileness  of  his  finest  ideals?  Who  has  not  lost  his  appe¬ 
tite  for  life  through  the  monotony  of  life?  Above  all,  who 
does  not  know  the  experience  of  remorse  for  sin  and  moral 
failure?  “The  internal  decay  of  the  incentive  of  work,  the 
drooping  of  the  sails  of  ambition,  the  falling  out  of  humor 
with  one’s  own  humor” — this  is  a  part  of  the  history  of 
every  man’s  inner  life.  And  in  searching  for  means  of  re¬ 
freshing  the  weary  spirit  we  must  reckon  with  worship.  It 
is  not  the  only  device  by  which  something  of  the  joy  and 
zest  of  life  may  be  recovered.  A  vacation,  a  favorite  book, 
the  companionship  of  men  and  women,  an  evening  at  the 
concert,  an  afternoon  on  the  golf  course  may  give  the  de¬ 
sired  variation  in  the  daily  routine  which  is  needful  to 
“restore  the  soul.”  There  are  two  defects,  however,  which 
make  it  impossible  for  these  ever  to  take  first  rank  as  means 
of  spiritual  renewal.  First,  they  are  purely  external  aids. 
One  who  depends  upon  them  exclusively  soon  loses  all 
power  to  refresh  himself  from  the  springs  of  his  own  inner 
life.  Pity  that  multitude  who  find  it  necessary  always  to 
go  outside  themselves  for  relaxation  and  excitement,  and 
who,  in  the  absence  of  accustomed  pleasure,  are  not  only 
cast  down  but  also  destroyed !  Moreover,  these  restorative 
measures  have  little  power  to  affect  the  supreme  cause  of 
spiritual  fatigue — sin.  They  can  only  anaesthetize  the 


THE  SIGNIFICANCE  OF  WORSHIP  n 

troubled  conscience  by  inducing  a  temporary  forgetfulness. 
They  are  unable  to  remove  permanently  the  sense  of  guilt, 
or  create  a  consciousness  of  strength  which  will  make  vic¬ 
torious  living  possible  in  the  future. 

But  it  is  at  precisely  these  points  that  worship  attains 
to  primacy  among  all  other  methods  of  recuperation.  Its 
strength  comes  from  within,  and  is  independent  of  outward 
circumstances.  One  may  not  always  be  able  to  take  a  vaca¬ 
tion  from  his  work,  but  he  may  always  pray  at  his  work. 
When  changes  on  the  outside  cannot  be  effected  by  prayer, 
one  may  change  his  attitude  on  the  inside  so  as  to  rest  him¬ 
self  while  he  works.  And  because  he  does  it  for  himself 
he  never  becomes  dependent  upon  outward  aids.  The  great 
mystics  affirm  that  worship  will  do  all  that  friendship, 
amusement,  food,  medicine,  or  even  sleep  can  accomplish 
for  the  refreshment  of  the  spirit.  Furthermore,  it  relieves 
the  tension  of  overtaut  nerves,  not  by  inducing  forgetful¬ 
ness,  but  by  creating  the  sense  of  Another  Presence,  All- 
Loving  and  All-Strong,  who  has  come  to  help  us  face  the 
facts  of  life  and  energize  our  weakened  wills.  In  prayer 
the  sin-tortured  soul  is  soothed  by  the  conviction  that  sin 
is  forgiven  and  by  the  assurance  that  in  future  conflicts  he 
shall  have  power  to  overcome  sin.  In  worship  as  in  noth¬ 
ing  else  “a  self  hitherto  divided  and  consciously  wrong,  in¬ 
ferior,  and  unhappy  becomes  unified  and  consciously  right, 
superior,  and  happy  in  consequence  of  its  firmer  hold  upon 
religious  realities/’2  Thus  the  greatest  American  psycholo¬ 
gist  confirms  the  findings  of  an  ancient  prophet:  “They  that 
wait  upon  the  Lord  shall  renew  their  strength”  (Isa.  40.  31 ). 

Consider  a  third  suggestion  as  to  the  value  of  worship. 
Men  not  only  grow  weary,  but  they  become  confused  and 
lose  their  sense  of  direction.  They  require  not  only 
means  of  refreshing  themselves  but  instruments  for  ascer¬ 
taining  their  moral  and  spiritual  bearings.  The  line  be- 


sWilliam  James,  The  Varieties  of  Religious  Experience ,  p.  189. 
Reprinted  by  permission  of  Longmans,  Green  &  Co. 


12 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


tween  virtue  and  vice  is  very  faint  on  occasion.  A  tech¬ 
nique  is  in  demand  for  sharpening  such  lines.  Worship 
proves  competent  for  this.  Everyone  who  prays  knows 
what  it  means  to  have  a  perplexed  mind  become  quiet  and 
assured  in  the  act  of  prayer,  forming  judgments,  reaching 
conclusions,  taking  new  points  of  view  as  one  worships. 
The  writer  of  Ephesians  had  this  in  mind  when  he  prayed 
“that  the  God  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  Father  of  glory, 
may  give  unto  you  a  spirit  of  wisdom  and  revelation  in  the 
knowledge  of  him”  (i.  17).  A  distinguished  American 
physician  understands  it  who  affirms  that  to  pray  is  to  do 
what  the  woodsman  does,  who,  uncertain  of  his  where¬ 
abouts,  climbs  the  highest  tree  to  take  a  look  around.3 
The  mystics  uniformly  describe  an  experience  which  they 
call  “the  illumination  of  the  soul”  in  which  the  ordinary 
powers  of  perception  are  heightened  and  insights  deepened. 
Psychologists  may  refer  all  this  to  the  “unconscious  mind” 
out  of  which  suggestion  is  supposed  to  come  when  the  nerv¬ 
ous  system  is  relaxed.  This  does  not  satisfy  the  true  mys¬ 
tics,  however,  who  are  philosophers  in  search  of  reality, 
and  scientists  describing  their  own  states  of  mind,  as  well 
as  devotees.  They  are  convinced  that  the  cause  of  these 
enlightening  experiences  does  not  lie  wholly  within  them¬ 
selves.  They  have  a  feeling  of  “otherness.”  “Another”  in¬ 
structs,  suggests,  inspires,  and  guides.  They  are  over¬ 
whelmingly  sure  that  they  have  established  communication 
with  the  Infinite  Source  of  all  life  and  being.  The  “un¬ 
conscious  mind”  cannot  be  more  than  the  organ  of  the 
Holy  Spirit. 

Mr.  H.  G.  Wells  is  not  accustomed  to  defend  traditional 
views  in  religion.  But  on  this  matter  he  writes  very  much 
like  Saint  Paul.  “Then,  suddenly,  in  a  little  while,  in  his 
own  time,  God  comes.  This  cardinal  experience  is  an  un¬ 
doubting,  immediate  sense  of  God.  It  is  the  attainment  of 
an  absolute  certainty  that  one  is  not  alone  in  oneself.  It  is 


3R.  C.  Cabot,  What  Men  Live  By,  p.  277. 


THE  SIGNIFICANCE  OF  WORSHIP 


13 


as  if  one  were  touched  at  every  point  by  a  being  akin  to  one¬ 
self,  sympathetic,  beyond  measure  wiser,  steadfast  and 
pure  in  aim.  It  is  complete  and  more  intimate,  but  it  is  like 
standing  side  by  side  with  and  touching  some  one  that  we 
love  dearly  and  trust  completely.  It  is  as  if  this  being 
bridged  a  thousand  misunderstandings  and  brought  us  in 
touch  with  a  great  multitude  of  other  people.  .  .  .  The  mo¬ 
ment  may  come  while  we  are  alone  in  the  darkness,  under 
the  stars,  or  while  we  walk  by  ourselves  or  in  a  crowd,  or 
while  we  sit  and  muse.  It  may  come  upon  the  sinking  of  a 
ship  or  in  the  tumult  of  battle.  There  is  no  saying  when  it 
may  not  come  to  us.  But  after  it  has  come  our  lives  are 
changed.  God  is  with  us  and  there  is  no  more  doubt  of  God. 
Thereafter  one  goes  about  the  world  like  one  who  was  lonely 
and  has  found  a  lover,  like  one  who  was  perplexed  and  has 
found  a  solution.  One  is  assured  that  there  is  a  Power  that 
fights  with  us  and  against  the  confusion  and  evil  within  us 
and  without.  There  comes  into  the  heart  an  essential  and 
enduring  happiness  and  courage.”4 

Now,  the  experience  of  the  mystic  does  not  differ  in  kind 
from  that  of  all  who  genuinely  worship.  It  differs  only  in 
degree.  Everyone  is  a  mystic  to  whom  God  is  consciously 
real  as  he  prays.  To  worship  is  to  go  on  a  great  adventure 
that  brings  up  at  last  in  the  very  presence  of  the  Father, 
and  in  this  adventure  we  acquire  knowledge  about  God  and 
our  relation  to  him. 

Again,  consider  the  contribution  which  worship  may  make 
toward  the  solution  of  our  social  problems.  The  most  im¬ 
pressive  fact  about  modern  society  is  its  high  degree  of 
‘‘mutualism.”  Never  were  men  dependent  upon  each  other 
as  now.  Professor  Ross  describes  this  condition  accurately, 
if  imaginatively :  “Nowadays  the  water  main  is  my  well, 
the  trolley  car  my  carriage,  the  bankers’  safe  my  old  stock¬ 
ing,  the  policeman’s  billy  my  fist.  My  own  eyes  and  nose 

‘Reprinted  by  permission  of  The  Macmillan  Company  from  H.  G. 
W ells,  God,  the  Invisible  King,  p.  23k  The  italics  are  the  author’s. 


14 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


and  judgment  defer  to  the  inspector  of  food,  or  drugs,  or 
gas,  or  factories,  or  tenements,  or  insurance  companies.  I 
rely  upon  others  to  look  after  my  drains,  invest  my  savings, 
nurse  my  sick,  and  teach  my  children.  I  let  the  meat  trust 
butcher  my  pigs,  the  oil  trust  mold  my  candles,  the  sugar 
trust  boil  my  sorghum,  the  coal  trust  chop  my  wood,  the 
barb-wire  company  split  my  rails.”5  He  might  have  added 
that  we  look  to  others  for  the  opportunity  of  earning  a  living 
as  men  never  have  done  before.  For  the  first  time  in  human 
history  the  tools  of  industry  are  too  expensive  for  the  work¬ 
ers  to  own,  so  that  the  man  who  uses  the  instruments  of 
economic  production  must  ask  the  privilege  of  others.  On 
the  whole,  this  interdependence  of  each  upon  all  and  all  on 
each  has  greatly  multiplied  our  comforts  and  increased  our 
happiness.  It  has  increased  also  the  number  of  friction 
points  and  thereby  the  possibilities  of  misery.  Men  are  in 
each  other’s  power  and  at  each  other’s  mercy  to  a  degree 
altogether  unprecedented.  This  is  the  very  essence  of  “the 
social  problem.” 

Now,  we  may  safely  assume  that  our  social  organization 
will  never  be  less  intricate  than  at  present.  On  the  con¬ 
trary,  it  may  become  more  complicated.  The  “solution  of 
the  social  problem”  obviously  calls  for  a  higher  degree  of 
intelligence  to  administer  this  complex  social  organization. 
More  imagination  and  more  technical  knowledge  will  help 
us  greatly.  But  chiefly  we  shall  need  more  good  will.  Our 
confusion  is  due  less  to  lack  of  knowledge  than  to  lack  of 
brotherliness.  A  little  selfishness  now  may  work  greater 
hardship  than  much  selfishness  in  a  simpler  social  order. 
A  method  must  be  found  to  generate  altruism,  to  increase 
the  sense  of  brotherhood  and  obligation  to  our  human  kind. 
In  the  search  for  an  agent  to  accomplish  this  spiritual  trans¬ 
mutation,  we  find  nothing  more  promising  than  worship. 
Humility,  reverence,  affection,  kindliness  are  all  essential 


5E.  A.  Ross,  Sin  and  Society,  p.  3.  Used  by  permission  of 
Houghton  Mifflin  Company. 


THE  SIGNIFICANCE  OF  WORSHIP 


15 


to  the  prayerful  frame  of  mind.  The  mood  of  worship 
cannot  tolerate  any  sentiment  of  ill  will.  To  worship  is 
to  love.  To  admit  any  unsocial  feeling  while  one  prays  is 
to  dispel  the  worshiping  mood.  As  a  generator  of  altruism 
worship  has  the  very  greatest  social  significance.  No  one 
is  doing  more  to  promote  the  spirit  of  brotherhood  and  in¬ 
crease  the  available  supply  of  social  sympathy  than  he  who 
induces  his  fellow  men  to  pray. 

Yet  again,  consider  the  significance  of  worship  for  physi¬ 
cal  health.  The  early  history  of  the  Christian  Church  is 
“permeated  with  a  sense  of  conquest  over  sickness,  disease, 
and  moral  ills  of  every  kind.”  Gibbon  mentions  “the  mirac¬ 
ulous  powers  of  the  primitive  church”  as  the  third  cause 
for  the  spread  of  Christianity — though  personally  he  deemed 
it  an  unworthy  cause.  And  while  our  theories  of  disease 
have  changed  radically,  the  history  of  the  modern  church 
supplies  incontrovertible  evidence  of  the  therapeutic  value 
of  faith  and  prayer.  Doctor  McComb  declares  “that 
throughout  later  history  the  appearance  of  any  great  re¬ 
ligious  personality  synchronized  with  an  outburst  of  heal¬ 
ing  power.  Francis  of  Assisi,  Luther,  George  Fox,  and 
John  Wesley  were  not  only  great  spiritual  thinkers  but 
also,  by  the  strength  of  their  faith,  were  able  in  certain 
cases  to  set  up  a  powerful  physical  stimulus  which  resulted 
in  the  restoration  of  health  to  the  sufferers ;  and  whenever 
there  has  been  a  revival  of  religious  life  it  has  been  accom¬ 
panied  by  a  more  abundant  sense  of  well-being  both  in  soul 
and  body.”6 

The  explanation  which  modem  psychology  gives  of  the 
process  of  psychical  healing  is  entirely  acceptable  to  ortho¬ 
dox  believers  both  in  medicine  and  religion.  Mind  and 
body  are  one.  Their  relation  is  so  intimate  that  each  re¬ 
acts  upon  the  other  definitely  and  promptly.  Physical  con¬ 
ditions  affect  the  mind,  and  mental  states  in  turn  influence 
the  body.  Anxiety,  worry,  grief,  fear,  anger  interfere  with 

“Worcester,  McComb,  Coriat,  Religion  and  Medicine ,  p.  299. 
Used  by  permission  of  Moffat,  Yard  and  Company. 


i6 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


the  proper  working  of  almost  every  organ  in  the  body.  On 
the  other  hand,  faith,  hopefulness,  confidence,  trust,  love, 
good  cheer  stimulate  helpfully  every  organ.  Whatever  will 
induce  and  make  permanent  these  latter  states  makes  for 
health  and  long  life.  Worship  is  such  an  agent.  Practically 
every  psychologist  and  physician  agrees  with  William  James 
in  affirming  that  under  certain  circumstances  prayer  may 
contribute  greatly  to  recovery  from  illness  and  should  be 
encouraged  as  a  curative  method.  This  recognition  of  the 
restorative  power  of  prayer  in  illness  carries  with  it  no  ap¬ 
proval  of  the  extravagant  claims  of  faith-healing  cults  which 
have  sprung  up  outside  the  church,  setting  themselves 
against  scientific  medicine.  In  sickness  one's  first  duty  is 
to  consult  a  reputable  medical  man.  We  are  insisting  on 
no  more  than  this — that  the  sense  of  peace,  and  rest,  and 
confident  hope  that  is  inspired  through  worship  will  greatly 
assist  the  physician  in  his  work  and  facilitate  the  patient’s 
recovery.  The  failure  of  the  church  to  recognize  this 
value  in  worship  has  opened  the  way  for  certain  religious 
bodies,  usually  regarded  as  outside  the  pale  of  the  Chris¬ 
tian  Church,  to  grow  powerful  through  capitalizing  the  idea. 
It  is  the  one  good  thing  in  a  blend  of  false  philosophy, 
pseudo-science,  and  bad  theology.  By  it  “all  these  cults 
heal  the  sick,  dissipate  various  kinds  of  miseries,  afford 
moral  uplift  to  the  depressed,  and  create  an  atmosphere 
of  faith,  hope,  and  courage  in  which  achievements  are 
wrought  that  recall  the  early  springtime  of  Christianity.” 
Is  it  not  time  that  the  church  should  proclaim  again  her 
earliest  message,  since  physicians  and  psychologists  of  first 
rank  encourage  her  to  do  so?  That  message  is  contained 
in  the  following  paragraph  of  Religion  and  Medicine: 

“The  prayer  of  faith  uttered  or  unexpressed  has  an  im¬ 
mense  influence  over  the  functions  of  organic  life.  It  is 
significant  that  a  great  English  newspaper  in  an  article  on 
sleep  recommended  sufferers  from  insomnia  to  betake  them¬ 
selves  to  prayer.  The  advice  was  eminently  sound,  for  in 
true  prayer  the  mind  is  in  a  receptive  attitude.  It  is  open 


THE  SIGNIFICANCE  OF  WORSHIP 


17 


to  the  inflow  of  the  divine  forces  that  bless  and  heal.  Now, 
the  great  hindrances  to  sleep  are  worry,  anxiety,  remorse, 
shame,  sometimes  fear  of  not  sleeping.  Prayer  calms  and 
soothes  the  soul,  lifts  it  into  a  higher  region  than  the  earthly, 
and  thus  conduces  to  the  state  in  which  sleep  becomes 
possible.  Suppose,  now,  that  our  whole  waking  life  were 
to  be  lived  as  Christ’s  was  lived,  in  an  atmosphere  of  prayer; 
that  is,  in  a  sense  of  oneness  with  the  Infinite  Life,  the 
Soul  of  our  souls,  so  that  we  should  become  channels 
through  which  the  thought  and  love  of  God  might  have  un¬ 
hindered  course.  Must  not  the  body  so  closely  connected 
with  the  soul  feel  a  new  uplift  and  virtue?  This  is  espe¬ 
cially  true  of  all  nervous  disorders,  because  the  mind  has 
especial  relations  to  the  brain  and  nervous  system.”7 

In  the  light  of  all  this,  the  need  for  prayer  is  imperative. 
It  is  not  quite  evident,  however,  that  a  community  is  under 
obligation  to  provide  facilities  for  social  prayer.  Is  not 
individual  prayer  adequate  for  all  spiritual  needs?  Great 
souls  in  all  ages  have  nourished  their  spirits  on  private  de¬ 
votion.  Jesus  bade  us  enter  into  our  chambers  and  pray 
in  secret,  and  was  himself  accustomed  to  go  into  the  moun¬ 
tain  and  the  solitary  place  apart  for  prayer. 

What  legitimate  demand  is  there  for  public  worship? 
We  answer,  “The  demand  of  the  social  nature  which  caused 
Jesus  to  form  the  habit  of  joining  his  prayers  with  his  fellow 
men  in  the  synagogue  as  well  as  going  into  a  secret  place  for 
solitary  communion  with  God.”  He  took  upon  himself  the 
form  and  nature  of  a  man — and  man  was  not  made  for 
solitude.  It  is  impossible  for  him  to  develop  normally  ex¬ 
cept  in  the  midst  of  his  kind.  Companionship  is  quite  as 
necessary  in  his  worship  as  in  his  work.  Private  devotion 
alone  cannot  satisfy  his  total  need.  The  lonely  soldier  on 
outpost  may  hold  himself  heroically  to  a  proper  perform¬ 
ance  of  his  duty  in  spite  of  the  terrors  that  fill  his  imagina¬ 
tion.  But  his  steadiness  and  clear-sightedness — and,  in- 

Worcester,  McComb,  Coriat,  op.  cit p.  312.  Used  by  permission 
of  Moffat,  Yard  and  Company. 


i8 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


cidentally,  his  usefulness — will  be  greatly  increased  by  the 
presence  of  comrades  in  arms.  With  insight  Doctor  Cabot 
remarks  that  it  means  as  much  for  believers  as  for  soldiers 
to  touch  elbows.  The  benefits  of  private  prayer  are  mag¬ 
nified  many  times  by  social  worship,  which  exposes  us  to 
the  contagion  of  other  men’s  faith.  An  atmosphere  of  be¬ 
lief  is  created  in  which  our  own  faith  is  strengthened 
through  the  realization  that  others  share  enthusiastically  in 
those  beliefs. 

Moreover,  fellowship  in  prayer  is  the  only  corrective!  for 
eccentricities  of  belief  which  inevitably  characterize  those 
who  do  not  join  with  others  in  prayer.  On  our  Western 
ranges  may  be  found  the  sheep-herder  who  lives  alone  so 
much  that  he  becomes  unlike  other  men  in  some  essential 
respects.  An  air  of  detachment  and  aloofness  distinguishes 
him  in  the  centers  of  population  on  the  occasion  of  his 
rare  visits.  A  similar  difference  is  seen  among  believers. 
One  who  lives  in  religious  isolation  may  be  genuinely  de¬ 
vout,  but  he  will  almost  certainly  be  “queer”  in  his  devo¬ 
tion,  varying  from  the  normal  in  doctrine  and  belief.  For 
the  standard  for  faith  must  be  set  by  the  worshiping  group 
rather  than  the  worshiping  individual. 

It  must  follow,  then,  that  to  “conduct  services”  is  to  ren¬ 
der  service  of  the  highest  sort.  It  need  not  be  a  serious  fault 
that  the  church  does  nothing  except  gather  the  people  for 
worship  and  instruction,  provided  it  does  this  effectively. 
It  may  well  be  that  some  churches  should  close  their  doors, 
but  never  those  which  create  an  atmosphere  quickeningly 
religious  in  the  place  of  public  prayer.  To  such  churches 
men  will  ever  turn  as  to  their  best  friends  for  inward 
comfort  and  strength. 

Books  Recommended  for  Further  Study8 

R.  C.  Cabot,  What  Men  Live  By.  Part  IV. 

Worcester  and  McComb,  Religion  and  Medicine. 

Any  desired  book  in  these  lists  at  end  of  chapters  may  be 
secured  from  your  own  publisher. 


THE  SIGNIFICANCE  OF  WORSHIP 


19 


Washington  Gladden,  The  Christian  Pastor,  Chapter  VI. 
Harry  E.  Fosdick,  The  Meaning  of  Prayer. 

E.  Herman,  Creative  Prayer. 

B.  H.  Streeter,  et  al.,  Concerning  Prayer,  Chapter  XI. 

H.  S.  Coffin,  What  Is  There  in  Religion t 


CHAPTER  II 

IDEALS  OF  WORSHIP 

It  may  be  that  the  lack  of  popular  interest  in  public  wor¬ 
ship  is  not  due  primarily  to  the  religious  indifference  of 
the  community,  but  rather  to  the  failure  of  the  churches  to 
conduct  worship  effectively.  Only  rarely  does  one  find  a 
service  characterized  by  an  atmosphere  genuinely  devout  or 
quickeningly  religious.  This  applies  to  large  churches  as 
well  as  small,  to  those  which  use  “prescribed  prayers”  as 
well  as  those  which  enjoy  “free  worship.”  On  the  one 
hand,  mechanical  orderliness  and  ritualistic  decorum  are 
emphasized  at  the  expense  of  life.  On  the  other,  freedom 
has  admitted  slovenliness  and  irreverence  to  the  sanctuary. 
Under  both  circumstances  one  misses  the  dynamic  quality 
which  is  associated  with  reality  in  spiritual  things.  It  is 
inexcusable  that  a  church  or  minister  should  do  little  else 
than  conduct  services  of  worship,  and  yet  do  that  so  un¬ 
impressively  that  the  weary  spirit  finds  no  rest  in  collective 
prayer. 

i.  Ideals  of  Worship.  This  ineffectiveness  is  due  to 
the  control  of  false  ideals  of  worship.  One  of  these  is  the 
sacerdotal  conception  of  public  worship  as  “Divine  Service,” 
or  a  way  of  serving  God.  Doubtless  there  is  a  measure  of 
truth  in  this  view.  If  God  covets  the  fellowship  of  men, 
as  the  New  Testament  represents,  men  render  him  a 
service  when  they  give  themselves  to  him  in  love.  But  this 
thought  is  obscured  by  undue  regard  for  the  exact  per¬ 
formance  of  the  ritual  which  in  the  end  implies  that  God  is 
primarily  interested  in  the  manner  in  which  men  offer  their 
worship.  With  true  religious  insight  Doctor  Fosdick  has 
suggested  that  public  worship  is  not  divine  service  but 
preparation  for  divine  service  in  daily  living.  Again,  the 
c esthetic  ideal  is  sometimes  in  the  ascendant.  Public  wor- 


20 


IDEALS  OF  WORSHIP 


21 


ship  is  not  distinguished  from  public  entertainment.  The 
aim  is  to  give  pleasure  to  the  congregation  rather  than  to 
induce  the  people  to  pray.  The  musical  numbers  are  pro¬ 
fessionally  excellent.  The  prayers  are  rhetorically  perfect. 
The  sermon  is  oratorically  effective.  One  may  depart  from 
such  a  service  in  the  pleasant  frame  of  mind  in  which  a 
good  concert  leaves  him.  But  it  is  not  a  worshipful  frame 
of  mind.  God  is  not  necessarily  in  his  thought,  though  the 
sermon,  the  music,  and  prayers  may  have  dealt  with  re¬ 
ligious  themes.  More  commonly,  however,  the  homiletical 
ideal  controls  in  evangelical  communions.  The  sermon  is 
exalted  to  the  place  of  primary  importance  in  the  service. 
Everything  else  is  incidental.  Historically  the  reformers 
of  the  sixteenth  century  who  substituted  the  sermon  for 
the  sacrifice  of  the  mass,  and,  in  their  reaction  against  every¬ 
thing  Roman,  either  abolished  from  the  public  service  that 
which  appealed  to  the  aesthetic  sensibilities  or  assigned  it 
to  a  distinctly  subordinate  place,  are  responsible  for  this 
“sermonolatry.”  The  influence  of  this  ideal  is  still  power¬ 
ful,  as  the  common  custom  witnesses  of  announcing  services 
of  worship  as  “preaching  services.”  Under  this  ideal  the 
pastor  permits  himself  to  become  absorbed  almost  ex¬ 
clusively  in  the  preparation  of  the  sermon,  giving  little  or 
no  attention  to  the  music  or  public  prayers.  These  are  re¬ 
garded  as  unimportant  “preliminaries”  to  the  real  means 
of  grace.  The  congregation  too  regards  them  in  like  man¬ 
ner  and  is  satisfied  if  it  is  finally  assembled  by  the  time  the 
sermon  has  begun.  Under  this  ideal  the  value  of  the  service 
is  determined  by  the  accident  as  to  whether  or  not  the 
sermon  is  “good.” 

Each  of  these  ideals  emphasizes  something  that  deserves 
careful  consideration.  There  should  be  enough  of  ritualism 
in  public  worship  to  make  the  service  reverent  and  orderly. 
There  should  be  sufficient  respect  for  aesthetic  values  that 
the  sensibilities  of  the  ordinary  person  shall  not  be  offended. 
And  the  educational  value  of  the  sermon  should  be  appre¬ 
ciated  to  the  extent  that  the  minister  shall  always  put  into 


22 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


it  his  best  thought  and  effort.  But  to  emphasize  unduly 
any  one  of  these  admirable  qualities  defeats  the  end  of  so¬ 
cial  prayer  by  substituting  a  subordinate  for  a  primary  aim. 
This  aim  can  never  be  to  teach  correct  ritualistic  action, 
or  to  affect  pleasantly  the  aesthetic  feelings,  or  to  impart 
knowledge  of  religious  subjects.  It  is  nothing  less  than 

*  the  development  of  proper  attitudes  of  soul  toward  God 
and  men — to  induce  the  great  worshipful  moods  and  give 
them  stability. 

In  his  excellent  volume  on  Worship  in  the  Sunday  School 1 
Professor  Hartshorne  groups  the  more  important  Christian 
attitudes  under  five  heads :  Gratitude,  Good  Will,  Rever¬ 
ence,  Faith,  and  Loyalty.  Each  of  these  is  a  composite 
emotion  including  many  others  which  in  themselves  are 
legitimate  ends  of  worship.  For  example,  gratitude  is 
compounded  of  joy,  tenderness,  and  the  feeling  of  obliga¬ 
tion.  Good  will  embraces  joy,  pity,  sorrow,  forgiveness, 
and  kindness.  Reverence  is  a  blending  of  fear,  wonder, 
admiration,  tenderness,  respect,  dependence,  love,  and  peni¬ 
tence.  Faith  is  made  up  of  hope,  assurance,  joy,  freedom, 
aspiration,  confidence,  and  trust.  Loyalty  involves  the 
sense  of  ownership,  devotion,  and  self-surrender.  The 
problem  that  is  set  for  the  leader  of  public  worship  is  to 
conduct  himself  in  such  a  manner  and  lead  the  people  in 
such  exercises  as  will  arouse  one  or  more  of  these  emotions. 
Whatever  other  values  the  service  may  possess,  if  it  fails 
to  do  this,  it  cannot  properly  be  called  “public  worship.” 

2.  Psychology  and  Worship.  The  leader  of  worship 
should  be  a  student  of  modern  psychology.  Educators  have 
long  understood  the  value  of  this  science  and  no  one  can 
be  regarded  as  equipped  for  the  work  of  teaching 
who  is  not  familiar  with  its  principles.  But  Professor 

♦  Gardner’s  comment  on  the  relation  of  psychology  to  preach¬ 
ing  applies  with  equal  force  to  the  whole  matter  of  public 
worship :  “The  works  discussing  the  preparation  and  de- 


Tp.  50-58. 


IDEALS  OF  WORSHIP 


23 


livery  of  sermons  rarely,  if  ever,  approach  the  subject  from 
the  standpoint  of  modern  functional  psychology.  The  psy¬ 
chological  conceptions  underlying  most  of  these  treatises 
belong  to  a  stage  of  psychological  thought  long  since  past. 
But  there  seems  to  be  just  as  much  reason  for  applying  the 
principles  of  modern  psychology  to  preaching  (or  worship) 
as  to  teaching.”* 2  The  minister  who  desires  to  become 
skillful  in  the  art  of  conducting  social  worship  will  take 
into  serious  account  the  literature  of  this  subject,  especially 
that  part  of  it  which  treats  of  the  psychology  of  the  crowd. 
His  first  task  is  to  create  mental  unity,  induce  the  people  to 
think  and  feel  together.  This  suggestion  may  be  resented 
by  those  who  believe  that  the  ‘‘crowd  mind”  is  hopelessly 
inferior  in  every  way.3  But  Gustave  Le  Bon,  the  great 
pioneer  in  this  field,  insists  that  while  the  crowd  is  intel¬ 
lectually  and  volitionally  inferior  to  the  individual,  emo¬ 
tionally  it  may  be  worse,  or  better,  according  to  circum¬ 
stances.  If  human  nature  sometimes  degrades  itself  in  col¬ 
lective  action,  it  likewise,  on  occasion,  glorifies  itself  thus. 
“Doubtless  a  crowd  is  often  criminal,  but  it  is  also  often 
heroic,”  says  Le  Bon.  “It  is  crowds,  rather  than  isolated 
individuals,  that  may  be  induced  to  run  the  risk  of  death, 
to  secure  the  triumph  of  a  creed  or  an  idea,  that  may  be 
fired  with  enthusiasm  for  glory  and  honor,  that  are  led  on 
almost  without  bread  and  without  arms,  as  in  the  age  of 
the  crusades,  to  deliver  the  tomb  of  Christ  from  the  infidel, 
or,  as  in  ’93,  to  defend  the  Fatherland.  Such  heroism  is 
without  doubt  somewhat  unconscious,  but  it  is  of  such  hero¬ 
ism  that  history  is  made.  Were  people  only  to  be  credited 
with  the  great  actions  performed  in  cold  blood,  the  annals 
of  the  world  would  register  few  of  them.”4 

^Reprinted  by  permission  of  The  Macmillan  Company.  Part  in 

parenthesis  the  author’s.  Charles  S.  Gardner,  Psychology  and 
Preaching,  Preface. 

3See  Martin,  The  Behavior  of  Crowds . 

4Reprinted  by  permission  of  The  Macmillan  Company.  Gustave 
Le  Bon,  The  Crowd,  p.  37L 


24 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


If  it  is  possible  to  lift  one  to  higher  levels  of  feeling  and 
acting  in  the  crowd  than  he  is  likely  to  reach  as  an  indi¬ 
vidual,  surely  it  is  entirely  legitimate  to  manipulate  the 
crowd  to  that  end.  This  is  the  justification  of  many  revival 
campaigns  which  are  open  to  criticism  from  other  points  of 
view.  After  all  the  objections  are  entered,  the  fact  re¬ 
mains  that  for  a  little  while  men  thought,  felt,  and  acted  on 
higher  levels  than  they  were  wont  to  do  in  “cold  blood.” 

It  may  be  helpful  to  summarize  the  essential  characteris¬ 
tics  of  the  crowd  mind.  A  multitude  need  not  be  a  psy¬ 
chological  crowd.  It  is  not,  so  long  as  its  component  in¬ 
dividuals  think  and  act  for  themselves.  On  the  other  hand, 
widely  scattered  individuals  may  display  the  marks  of  a 
crowd.  You  do  not  have  a  crowd  until  mental  and  emo¬ 
tional  fusion  has  taken  place  and  the  individual  mind  is 
sunk  in  the  collective  mind.  This  group  mind  is  not  a  mere 
summing  up  of  all  the  individual  minds  composing  it. 
“What  really  takes  place  is  a  combination  followed  by  the 
creation  of  new  characteristics,  just  as  in  chemistry  certain 
elements  when  brought  into  contact  combine  to  form  a  new 
body  possessing  properties  quite  different  from  those  of 
the  bodies  that  served  to  form  it.”5 

In  quality  this  collective  mind  resembles  the  “primitive” 
or  “barbarian  mind.”  It  is  impulsive,  credulous,  unstable, 
mobile,  highly  suggestible.  It  does  no  critical  thinking,  and 
quickly  transforms  feeling  into  action.  The  consciousness 
of  numbers  gives  it  a  sense  of  power,  and  the  disappearance 
of  self-conscious  individuality  creates  a  condition  in  which 
ideas  and  feelings  are  very  contagious,  running  quickly 
from  person  to  person.  In  these  qualities  we  find  the  se¬ 
cret  of  a  crowd’s  intolerance  and  also  of  its  generosity,  of 
its  distrust  and  its  faith,  of  its  irritability  and  its  patience. 

The  leader  of  worship  must  understand  the  nature  of  the 
crowd  mind,  utilizing  its  suggestibility  to  make  higher 
moods  and  thoughts  contagious.  His  first  task  is  to  create 

'Reprinted  by  permission  of  The  Macmillan  Company.  Le  Bon, 
op.  cit.,  p.  30. 


IDEALS  OF  WORSHIP 


25 


mental  unity,  induce  the  people  to  think  and  feel  together.  In 
the  beginning  of  the  service  there  is  always  a  high  degree 
of  “self-conscious  individuality”  in  the  assemblage.  The 
people  are  gathered  in  one  place,  but  they  are  not  of  one  ac¬ 
cord,  or  one  mind.  Each  is  concerned  with  his  own  special 
interests  and  there  is  little  common  feeling.  Some  are 
coldly  critical,  others  relaxed  and  drowsy,  while  still  others 
permit  their  attention  to  wander  uncontrolled  among  their 
personal  affairs.6  The  minister  must  fuse  the  people  men¬ 
tally  so  that  he  can  direct  their  thoughts  and  feelings  into 
the  desired  channels. 

It  would  be  too  much  to  assert  that  there  is  no  common 
feeling  at  all  at  the  beginning  of  the  service.  That  would 
be  true  only  of  an  assembly  which  had  gathered  accidentally. 
In  the  ordinary  service  the  fact  that  persons  have  come  to¬ 
gether  impelled  by  a  common  purpose  gives  somewhat  of 
psychical  unity  to  start  with.7  This  sense  of  oneness  is 
intensified  if  the  assembly  gathers  within  four  walls,  and  is 
thus  protected  from  distracting  influences  from  without. 
The  degree  in  which  physical  segregation  helps  to  unify 
the  congregation  intellectually  and  emotionally  may  be 
realized  by  holding  an  out-door  service  occasionally.  Fur¬ 
thermore,  if  the  architecture,  decorations,  and  symbolism  of 
the  room  are  attractive  and  suggestive,  and  the  organist  is 
playing  softly,  the  sense  of  unity  is  deepened.8  But  at 
best  the  state  of  psychical  fusion  in  the  beginning  of  the 
service  is  low,  and  the  problem  is  to  increase  it  to  the  point 
where  the  congregation  will  receive  uncritically  the  ideas 
of  the  leader.9 

Let  it  be  said  that  absolute  fusion  is  neither  to  be  ex¬ 
pected  nor  desired.  This  is  accomplished  only  when  “the 
crowd”  becomes  a  “mob”  in  which  the  individual  ceases  to 
exercise  his  mental  or  volitional  powers  and  responds  in- 

8Gardner,  op.  cit.,  p.  240. 

7Gardner,  op.  cit.,  p.  237. 

8Cutten,  Psychological  Phenomena  of  Christianity ,  p.  395. 

'Gardner,  op.  cit.,  p.  210. 


26 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


stinctively  to  the  influence  of  crowd-suggestion.  To  sup¬ 
press  entirely  the  personality  of  the  individual  would  be 
immoral,  though  it  has  been  done  repeatedly  in  religious  re¬ 
vivals  and  regarded  as  evidence  of  the  power  of  God.  The 
leader  may  attempt  nothing  more  than  to  secure  the  interest 
of  every  person  in  the  congregation  without  robbing  any  of 
his  intellectual  independence  or  paralyzing  his  will.  As  a 
matter  of  fact  this  is  all  that  can  be  accomplished  any  way 
except  in  case  of  the  purely  passive.  Persons  of  good  men¬ 
tal  equipment  will  resist  immediately  any  unwarranted  at¬ 
tack  upon  their  individuality. 

Many  ministers  untutored  in  the  principles  of  psychology 
have  employed  with  great  skill  the  methods  best  suited  to 
promote  the  process  of  mental  fusion.  Great  revival  preach¬ 
ers  have  always  been  masters  of  applied  “crowd  psychol¬ 
ogy.”  First,  the  scattered  congregation  is  brought  close 
together.  When  people  are  near  each  other,  ideas  and  feel¬ 
ings  are  more  readily  communicated  from  one  to  another 
because  the  subtle  physical  changes  of  body  and  coun¬ 
tenance  are  more  easily  recognized.  Close  crowding  re¬ 
stricts  freedom  of  bodily  movements  than  which  nothing 
tends  more  to  depress  the  individual  self.  Professor  Ross 
observes  that  “the  strength  of  multiplied  suggestion  is  at 
its  maximum  when  the  individual  is  in  the  midst  of  a 
throng,  helpless  to  control  his  position  or  movements.  .  .  . 
Often  a  furious,  naughty  child  will  become  meek  and  obedi¬ 
ent  after  being  held  a  moment  as  in  a  vise.  On  the  play¬ 
ground  a  saucy  boy  will  abruptly  surrender  and  ‘take  it 
back’  when  held  firmly  on  the  ground  without  power  to 
move  hand  or  foot.  The  cause  is  not  fear,  but  deflation  of 
the  ego.  Here  is  the  reason  why  individuality  is  so  wilted 
in  a  dense  throng,  and  why  persons  of  a  highly  developed 
but  somewhat  fragile  personality  have  a  horror  of  getting 
nipped  in  a  crowd.”10 

After  bringing  the  people  close  together,  the  leader  will 

10Reprinted  by  permission  of  The  Macmillan  Company.  E.  A. 
Ross,  Social  Psychology ,  p.  43f. 


IDEALS  OF  WORSHIP 


27 


require  them  to  act  together.  A  hymn  is  announced,  and 
the  request  is  made,  “Let  all  stand  and  join  in  the  singing.” 
The  creed,  recited  by  all,  follows  the  hymn.  After  the 
prayer,  the  congregation  unites  in  repeating  the  Lord’s 
Prayer,  minister  and  people  kneeling.  And  later  in  the 
service  other  provision  is  made  for  concerted  action  on 
the  part  of  the  worshipers.  This  has  the  same  tendency  to 
wilt  the  individual  self  as  close  crowding.  “If  all  stand  or 
leap  or  shout  or  kneel,  ...  or  do  anything  else  which  may 
occur  to  the  leader,  it  develops  a  consciousness  of  oneness 
and  breaks  up  the  personal  isolation  in  which  the  sense  of 
individuality  is  at  a  maximum.”11  Furthermore,  if  the 
bodily  posture  is  related  to  the  feeling  which  the  leader 
desires  to  awaken,  it  tends  to  produce  that  feeling,  or  to 
intensify  it,  if  already  present.  It  is  hard  to  be  sad  for  long 
if  one  forces  himself  to  smile.  To  fall  into  the  physical 
attitude  of  prayer  tends  to  create  the  desire  to  pray.12 

The  emotional  unity  produced  by  crowding  and  concerted 
action  is  unstable.  The  mind  instinctively  begins  searching 
for  some  object,  or  thought,  or  experience  which  will  justify 
the  emotion  that  has  been  induced.  If  no  such  object  can 
be  found,  the  sense  of  individuality  begins  to  rise  again  in 
the  congregation,  and  the  leader  has  “lost  his  crowd.”  The 
skillful  minister  will  see  to  it  that  there  is  no  delay  in  pre¬ 
senting  to  the  congregation  those  religious  ideas  upon  which 
he  desires  them  to  fix  their  attention  and  which  correspond 
to  the  mood  that  has  been  induced.  This  he  may  do  by  fol¬ 
lowing  the  organ  voluntary  or  the  opening  hymn  (chosen 
for  its  rhythmical  qualities  which  promote  mental  fusion) 
by  an  invocation  in  which  there  is  expressed  briefly  the 
desire  for  the  sense  of  God’s  presence,  or  by  a  recital  of 
the  creed  which  directs  the  attention  of  the  believer  to  the 
great  affirmations  of  his  faith.  The  hymns,  the  prayers,  the 
anthem,  and  the  sermon  will  be  used  likewise  to  direct  the 
thought  of  the  worshipers  toward  those  spiritual  subjects 

“Gardner,  op.  cit.,  p.  250. 

12Cutten,  op.  cit.,  p.  395. 


28 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


that  are  related  to  the  feelings  which  have  been  aroused, 
and  which  will  deepen  them.  Only  thus  can  the  condition 
of  psychical  unity  be  maintained  and  filled  with  religious 
significance. 

3.  Principles  of  Worship.  The  attention  of  the  con¬ 
gregation  must  be  held  once  it  is  won,  and  such  direction 
must  be  given  their  collective  thinking  as  will  intensify  the 
higher  emotions  and  increase  the  will  to  goodness.  In  order 
to  do  this,  the  leader  must  have  regard  for  certain  great 
principles  which  always  control  social  worship  when  it  is 
conducted  skillfully. 

a.  The  first  of  these  is  unity.  It  implies  that  all  the  sev¬ 
eral  acts  of  worship  shall  be  subordinated  to  the  control 
of  a  single  purpose  and  filled  with  a  common  spirit.  This 
does  not  mean  that  the  sermon  is  to  be  preached  repeatedly 
in  the  hymns,  prayers,  and  anthems  before  the  time  for  the 
sermon  itself  arrives.  It  will  be  enough  if  the  thought  and 
feeling  induced  by  the  music  and  prayers  shall  accord  with 
the  spirit  of  the  sermon,  and  nothing  incongruous  shall  be 
admitted  to  set  up  a  counter  movement  of  feeling. 

Great  variety  of  intellectual  content  may  be  entirely  con¬ 
sistent  with  this  kind  of  unity.  Let  us  suppose  that  the 
aim  of  the  service  is  to  lead  the  congregation  into  a  deeper 
love  for  Christ.  Love,  we  have  noted,  is  a  composite  emo¬ 
tion  in  which  adoration,  respect,  tenderness,  reverence,  joy, 
trust,  and  devotion  are  blended.  The  service,  ideally,  should 
awaken  all  these  feelings,  and  they  are  sufficiently  varied 
that  hymns,  anthems,  and  prayers  may  make  their  respective 
contributions  without  duplicating  in  the  least  that  which 
is  made  by  the  sermon.  The  music  need  not  deal  directly 
with  the  subject  of  Christ  so  long  as  it  evokes  some  of  the 
emotions  associated  with  love.  Or,  again,  the  subject  is 
so  many-sided  that  every  act  of  worship  may  deal  directly 
with  it  in  some  aspect  without  making  the  service  monot¬ 
onous. 

b.  The  second  great  principle  is  variety.  The  occasion  for 
it  is  twofold.  The  congregation  is  a  heterogeneous  group 


IDEALS  OF  WORSHIP 


29 


composed  of  old  and  young,  children  and  adults,  men  and 
women,  cultured  and  uneducated.  It  is  not  to  be  supposed 
that  these  diverse  elements  can  be  interested  in  the  same 
thing  or,  at  least,  to  the  same  degree.  Yet  each  person  in 
the  congregation  has  a  right  to  get  something  out  of  the 
service.  If  the  sermon  does  not  appeal,  then  the  hymns, 
the  Scripture,  or  the  prayers  may.  But  more  important, 
the  psychical  nature  of  every  person  in  the  congregation 
demands  variety  if  his  attention  is  to  be  held  throughout 
the  service.  The  attention  cannot  be  focused  for  long  upon 
a  single  object.  It  is  impossible  for  me  to  hold  my  thought 
to  the  desk  upon  which  I  write  unless  I  break  up  the  one 
object  of  thought  into  many  by  considering  it  from  different 
points  of  view.  By  directing  the  attention  now  to  this  aspect 
and  now  to  that,  it  is  possible  to  make  the  desk  an  object 
of  interest  for  a  long  time,  but  in  no  other  way.  Of  what 
material  is  it  made?  What  is  its  shape?  What  are  its  di¬ 
mensions?  How  much  drawer  space  does  it  contain?  Is  it 
preferable  to  a  roll-top  desk?  Only  thus  can  I  keep  the 
desk  long  in  my  thought,  for  it  is  the  nature  of  attention  to 
wander  from  one  object  to  another.  The  skillful  leader  of 
worship  must  present  varying  objects  to  the  attention  that 
will  gratify  its  appetite  for  change  and  at  the  same  time 
keep  it  close  to  the  main  matter.  Only  so  may  the  thought 
of  the  congregation  be  controlled.  And  this  is  as  true  for 
every  part  of  the  service  as  it  is  for  the  service  as  a  whole. 
The  preacher  will  soon  lose  the  attention  of  the  congrega¬ 
tion  during  the  sermon  unless  he  passes  swiftly  from  one 
phase  of  his  theme  to  another.  The  hymns  will  grow  unin¬ 
teresting  if  all  are  of  the  same  type.  It  is  better  for  the 
choir  to  sing  but  one  number  than  two  which  produce  the 
same  emotional  effect. 

c.  In  applying  the  second  principle  we  are  limited  by  the 
first.  This  gives  us  a  third,  progress.  In  seeking  variety 
we  are  not  permitted  to  seek  merely  ‘'something  different/’ 
It  must  be  that  particular  different  something  which  will  as¬ 
sist  the  movement  of  thought  and  feeling  in  the  desired 


30 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


direction.  Conceivably  it  might  be  so  different  as  to  be  in¬ 
congruous,  and  divert  the  service  entirely  from  its  proper 
channels.  The  demand  here  is  precisely  that  which  we  make 
upon  a  story  for  movement  and  action  toward  some  well- 
defined  end. 

d.  The  foregoing  principles  combine  to  suggest  a  fourth. 
The  service  should  have  a  definite  plan.  The  leader  should 
know  exactly  what  is  to  be  accomplished  by  the  service  as 
a  whole  and  just  what  contribution  each  act  of  worship  will 
make  to  the  realization  of  the  plan.  He  will  not  go  to  the 
service  without  giving  the  most  careful  thought  to  every 
detail.  Hymns,  prayers,  Scripture,  music,  and  sermon  will 
be  woven  “into  a  harmonious  whole  which  shall  in  its  total 
effect  induce  the  desired  change  in  the  minds  of  the  au¬ 
dience.”13 

e.  A  fifth  principle  which  must  control,  at  least  in  Prot¬ 
estant  worship,  is  democracy.  The  Roman  Catholic  theory 
is  that  the  clergy,  especially  the  bishops,  constitute  the 
church.  The  laity  are  admitted  only  to  a  position  of  passive 
obedience.  Participation  in  worship  is  the  exclusive  privi¬ 
lege  of  the  clerical  orders.  The  laymen  are  only  onlookers. 
The  Reformation,  however,  democratized  the  priesthood  by 
regarding  all  true  believers  as  priests.  The  effect  of  this 
upon  public  worship  was  revolutionary.  Worship  became 
immediately  the  prerogative  of  the  congregation,  and  con¬ 
gregational  singing  was  substituted  in  large  part  for  the 
chanting  of  priests.  Congregational  prayers  were  intro¬ 
duced,  and  the  whole  service  was  conducted  in  the  language 
of  the  people.  This  was  a  return  to  the  ideal  of  the  early 
church,  in  which  all  with  one  accord  and  one  mouth  glorified 
God.14 

The  Protestant  theory  of  public  worship  is  that  all  the 
action  in  the  service  is  the  collective  action  of  the  congre¬ 
gation.  In  the  special  musical  numbers  the  choir  represents 


13Hugh  Hartshorne,  Worship  in  the  Sunday  School ,  p.  H5f. 
“Romans  15.  6. 


IDEALS  OF  WORSHIP 


3i 


the  congregation.  Likewise  the  prayers  of  the  leader  are,  in 
fact,  congregational  prayers  uttered  by  him  in  a  purely 
representative  capacity.  He  is  only  the  mouthpiece  of  the 
people  expressing  for  them  their  praise  and  petitions. 

But  the  representatives  of  the  congregation  should  never 
overshadow  the  congregation  itself.  The  leader  should 
hold  up  continually  the  obligation  of  the  whole  assembly 
to  participate  heartily  in  the  many  parts  of  the  service  de¬ 
signed  for  collective  use — creed,  hymns,  prayers,  etc.  No 
congregation  should  permit  the  minister  and  the  choir  to 
monopolize  the  service.  Its  rights  in  this  regard  are  very 
precious  and  were  won  at  great  cost. 

We  should  be  warned  that  democracy  is  threatened  by 
mediocrity  of  taste  and  standards.  Under  an  aristocratic 
ideal  the  service  is  in  danger  of  becoming  mechanical  and 
unreal  from  excess  of  ritualism.  Under  a  democratic  ideal 
it  is  menaced  by  disorder,  irreverence,  extemporaneousness, 
unwarranted  assertion  of  individuality  by  minister  and 
members  of  the  congregation,  maudlin  sentimentality,  gen¬ 
eral  cheapness  in  tone  and  ideals.  One  of  the  chief  prob¬ 
lems  of  the  leader  of  social  prayer  is  to  open  the  door  for 
the  many  to  participate  in  worship  without  loss  of  dignity 
and  impressiveness  in  the  service. 

/.  Finally,  public  worship  should  be  beautiful.  God  is 
the  source  of  all  beauty,  and  in  his  worship  “tasteless  and 
misshapen”  forms  should  have  no  place.  This  applies,  first 
of  all,  to  the  place  of  worship.  It  is  difficult  for  a  congre¬ 
gation  to  worship  in  an  environment  that  offends  the  aes¬ 
thetic  sense.  Unlovely  surroundings  will  continually  ob¬ 
trude  themselves  upon  the  thought  of  the  worshipers, 
heightening  the  self-consciousness  of  the  individual  and 
tending  to  destroy  the  psychical  unity  that  is  essential  to 
social  worship.  Yet  how  commonly  are  things  tolerated  in 
the  place  of  prayer  which  are  unfriendly  to  the  spirit  of 
worship — architectural  styles  that  are  pagan  rather  than 
Christian,  bad  acoustics,  poor  ventilation,  improper  light¬ 
ing,  crude  attempts  at  interior  decorating,  and  often  un- 


32 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


cleanliness  !  Such  things  “impede  the  spirit’s  upward  aspira¬ 
tion.”  Our  churches  need  not  be  unbeautiful  because  we 
believe  in  the  simplicity  that  goes  with  democracy.  In  re¬ 
acting  from  the  Roman  type  of  architecture  we  need  not 
revert  to  the  Greek  temple.  In  protesting  against  the 
Roman  use  of  symbols  we  need  not  make  our  places  of 
worship  resemble  concert  rooms.  If  we  do  not  introduce 
anything  into  the  environment  that  suggests  religious 
thoughts,  at  all  events  we  can  see  to  it  that  nothing  in  the 
surroundings  shall  offend  the  good  taste  and  peace  of  mind 
of  the  worshipers. 

Moreover,  regard  for  the  principle  of  beauty  has  to  do 
with  orderliness  and  reverence.  There  is  something  very 
pleasing  in  a  service  which  begins  promptly  at  the  appointed 
hour  and  in  which  it  is  at  once  evident  that  everything  has 
been  anticipated  and  nothing  left  to  haphazard — ministers, 
lay  assistants,  choir,  ushers,  and  sexton  cooperating  together 
with  perfect  understanding.  Furthermore,  the  service 
should  be  radiant  with  the  beauty  which  inheres  in  reality 
in  worship — worship  that  is  “in  spirit  and  in  truth.”  What¬ 
ever  else  may  be  true  of  it,  unless  the  service  is  electric 
with  the  Divine  Presence  and  worshipers  are  made  to  realize 
the  nearness  of  an  invisible  world  of  spirit  and  power,  it 
cannot  be  “a  beautiful  service”  in  the  highest  sense  of  the 
term. 

4.  Prescribed  vs.  Free  Worship.15  In  applying  the 
proper  ideals  of  collective  worship,  some  communions  pro¬ 
vide  an  order  of  service  in  which  every  element  is  pre¬ 
scribed  by  ecclesiastical  authority,  and  nothing  is  left  to  the 
individual  judgment  of  the  leader  of  the  congregation  or  to 
the  congregation  itself.  Others  delight  in  free  worship, 
which  permits  the  leader  to  determine  for  himself  what 
shall  go  into  the  service.  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 

1BThis  section  is  little  more  than  a  digest  of  the  chapter  on  “Free 
Worship  versus  Formularies”  in  M.  P.  Tailing’s  excellent  book 
Extempore  Prayer,  p.  2off.  Used  by  permission  of  Fleming  H. 
Revell  Company. 


IDEALS  OF  WORSHIP 


33 


uses  both  types  of  service,  and  her  ministers  should  under¬ 
stand  the  values  of  each. 

A  ritualistic  service  is  justified  for  some  by  their  view  of 
authority  in  religion.  They  regard  the  priesthood  as  the 
“exclusive  channel  of  regenerative  grace.”  The  laity  are  in¬ 
competent  to  think  for  themselves  or  to  express  themselves 
in  religious  matters.  Hence  the  need  of  fixed  formularies 
in  which  the  exact  words  of  prayer,  and  praise,  and  instruc¬ 
tion  are  set  down  for  the  leader  and  congregation  to  repeat 
according  to  specific  directions.  But  “prescribed  worship” 
is  found  among  other  communions  who  disavow  this  notion 
of  authority.  Theology  has  little  to  do  with  forms  of 
worship.  “Any  church  of  any  faith  might  adopt  without 
modification  of  its  tenets  a  fixed  order  of  worship.”  In 
the  Established  Church  of  England  and  the  Protestant  Epis¬ 
copal  Church  in  the  United  States  may  be  found  great  va¬ 
riety  in  theological  points  of  view.  These  differences  seldom 
manifest  themselves  in  public  worship,  however,  for  every 
priest,  whether  conservative  or  progressive,  uses  the  same 
order  of  worship.  Perhaps  this  is  the  reason  why  a  pro¬ 
posal  to  alter  or  amend  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  is 
regarded  as  much  more  momentous  than  a  charge  of  theo¬ 
logical  errancy. 

a.  Tailing  states  the  case  for  a  liturgical  service  as  fol¬ 
lows  :16 


(1)  It  has  a  certain  stateliness  of  thought  and  charm  of  style 
which  satisfy  the  ear  and  cling  to  the  memory. 

(2)  It  makes  the  worshipers  independent  of  the  officiating  clergy¬ 
man,  so  that  his  faults  do  not  hinder  their  devotions. 

(3)  Affording  a  common  and  uniform  mteans  of  worship,  it 
serves  to  bind  together  all  the  members  of  the  church  into  one  fel¬ 
lowship  and  loyalty.  This  unity  embraces  the  past  as  well  as  the 
present.  For  persons  who  possess  a  strong  historical  sense,  the 
thought  that  they  are  using  the  very  same  words  of  prayer  and 
praise  that  have  been  found  upon  the  lips  of  believers  in  all  genera¬ 
tions  is  profoundly  inspiring. 

19 Extempore  Prayer ,  p.  2of.  Used  by  permission  of  Fleming  H. 
Revell  Company. 


34 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


(4)  It  is  especially  suitable  for  old  people,  because  of  its  un¬ 
changing  form  of  words,  .  .  .  and  for  young  people,  because 
their  interest  is  sustained  and  they  have  some  part  in  the  worship. 

(5)  Nonliturgical  or  free  worship  possesses  no  uniformity ,  and 
the  people  take  but  little  part  in  the  service,  and  are  exposed  to  the 
doctrinal  bias  and  personal  peculiarities  of  the  minister. 

(6)  Free  worship  is  in  great  danger  of  suffering  from  the  un¬ 
chastened  promptings  of  the  mind  and  uncorrected  effusions  of 
the  heart. 

b.  The  case  for  free  worship  is  summarized  thus: 

(1)  Prescribed  worship  makes  overmuch  of  method,  failing  to 
distinguish  between  the  spirit  and  the  form  of  prayer.  Free  wor¬ 
ship  in  the  nature  of  the  case  regards  the  spirit  of  worship  as  all- 
important. 

(2)  Free  worship  trusts  the  renewed  life  to  express  itself  in 
forms  that  are  entirely  appropriate.  It  believes  that  where  the 
head  and  the  heart  are  right  the  worship  will  not  go  far  wrong. 
.  .  .  If  man  were  vacant  of  God,  worship  would  need  to  be  a  pre¬ 
pared  article  offered  by  hearts  incapable  of  real  emotion,  but  while 
God  is  above  and  within  us,  worship  will  tend  to  take  on  a  suitable 
mood  and  a  reverent  expression. 

(3)  Fixed  forms  of  worship  are  the  work  of  periods  of  calm  in 
religious  life,  and  they  tend  toward  formalism.  On  the  other  hand, 
every  great  crisis  or  religious  activity  called  a  “revival”  or  “re¬ 
formation”  has  been  marked  by  the  casting  off  of  religious  cere¬ 
monial.  .  .  .  For  the  church,  as  for  the  individual,  intense  reli¬ 
gious  life  takes  on  its  own  expression,  and  it  is  direct,  simple,  and 
spontaneous. 

(4)  Prescribed  worship  is  not  sufficiently  elastic  to  meet  the 
demand  made  upon  it  by  special  occasions.  When  some  years  ago 
Edward  VII,  then  Prince  of  Wales,  was  ill,  and  a  call  for  national 
prayer  on  his  behalf  was  issued  late  in  the  week,  the  only  church 
which'  failed  to  respond  on  the  following  Sabbath  was  the  National 
Church'.  Because  the  bishops  had  not  had  time  to  send  down 
prayers  for  the  use  of  the  clergy,  there  was  silence  in  Anglican 
Churches  that  day  upon  the  very  theme  which  most  occupied  the 
British  heart.17 

(5)  <(Unchastened  promptings ”  are  not  inherently  necessary  in 
free  worship.  It  is  possible  for  the  individual  leader  to  correct 
the  “effusions  of  the  heart”  by  giving  careful  attention  to  every 


"Tailing,  op.  cit.,  p.  136E  Used  by  permission  of  Fleming  H. 
Revell  Company. 


IDEALS  OF  WORSHIP 


35 


detail  of  worship  and  combine  the  grace  of  the  liturgy  with  the 
warmth  and  spontaneity  of  free  worship.  If  nonliturgical  wor¬ 
ship  is  often  marred  by  indecorum,  that  proves  only  that  we  should 
teach  decorum — not  that  we  should  take  away  all  freedom  of 
expression. 

(6)  True  worship  is  always  creative  effort — “an  exercise  in 
thinking.”  To  this  end  free  prayer  must  be  more  helpful  than 
liturgical  formularies.  To  express  one’s  own  mood  compels  an 
attempt  at  original  thought  that  is  not  demanded  in  reciting  a  fixed 
form. 

Books  Recommended  for  Further  Study 

Hugh  Hartshorne,  Worship  in  the  Sunday  School. 

Charles  S.  Gardner,  Psychology  and  Preaching,  Chapter  XI. 

E.  A.  Ross,  Social  Psychology. 

M.  P.  Tailing,  Extempore  Prayer. 

Washington  Gladden,  The  Christian  Pastor,  Chapter  VI. 

L.  C.  Clark,  The  Worshiping  Congregation. 

B.  H.  Streeter,  et  al.,  Concerning  Prayer,  Chapter  VIII. 

T.  Harwood  Pattison,  Public  Worship. 

N.  J.  Burton,  In  Pulpit  and  Parish,  pp.  187-204. 


CHAPTER  III 


MATERIALS  OF  WORSHIP— MUSIC 

Under  ordinary  circumstances  social  worship  is  ex¬ 
pressed  in  Music,  Prayer,  Reading  of  the  Scriptures,  the 
Announcements,  the  Offering,  the  Sermon,  and  the  Bene¬ 
diction.  The  leader  should  understand  the  contribution 
which  each  of  these  exercises  may  make  to  the  service  and 
should  constantly  endeavor  to  make  himself  increasingly 
skillful  in  their  use. 

The  relation  of  music  to  worship  is  so  intimate  that  in 
both  its  vocal  and  instrumental  forms  it  is  a  powerful  agency 
for  expressing  and  developing  religious  sentiment. 

i.  The  Organ.  Its  unique  adaptability  for  accompany¬ 
ing  choral  song  makes  the  organ  the  sacred  instrument  par 
excellence.  The  pastor  cannot  be  expected  to  be  an  expert 
performer,  but  he  should  know  the  religious  value  of  organ 
music  and  what  is  to  be  accomplished  by  preludes,  inter¬ 
ludes,  offertories,  and  postludes.  Otherwise  he  may  find 
himself  at  the  mercy  of  an  organist  who  takes  only  profes¬ 
sional  interest  in  his  work,  or,  more  likely,  at  the  mercy  of 
a  congregation  whose  inattention  defeats  the  noblest  efforts 
of  the  organist.  More  regrettable  still,  in  the  absence  of 
proper  ideals  he  may  himself  create  the  impression  that  the 
organ  is  only  “a  piece  of  sumptuary  elegance”  by  his  lack 
of  respect  for  its  contribution. 

We  have  already  called  attention  to  the  organ  as  a  useful 
agent  in  fusing  the  congregation  into  an  emotional  unity 
at  the  beginning  of  the  service.  By  the  beauty  and  strength 
of  its  tones  it  commands  immediate  attention  and  creates  a 
hospitable  state  of  mind.  Lorenz  says,  “If  there  were  no 
other  justification  of  the  organ  prelude,  ...  its  influence 
as  mere  music  in  organizing  the  crowd  of  individuals  into 

36 


MATERIALS  OF  WORSHIP 


37 


a  psychical  unity  were  enough.  The  mere  fact  that  they 
are  listening  to  the  same  music,  are  having  a  common  ex¬ 
perience,  creates  a  composite  personality  that  becomes  an 
induction  coil  intensifying  the  current  of  feeling  that  is  to 
flow  to  the  individual  listener.  .  .  .  The  opening  music  is 
not  the  negligible  matter  it  is  usually  considered  to  be.”1 

Just  as  the  organ  prelude  promotes  unity  of  spirit  in  the 
beginning,  so  the  interludes,  responses,  and  offertory  are 
useful  in  stabilizing  emotion  when  there  is  danger  of  it 
being  broken  up  by  interruptions  or  sudden  changes  of  di¬ 
rection  in  the  service.  For  example,  most  congregations  are 
disturbed  by  the  belated  arrival  of  many  persons  after  the 
general  prayer.  Again,  the  offering  tends  to  retard  the 
movement  of  the  service.  And  during  the  holy  communion, 
the  movement  of  the  congregation  threatens  the  social  self 
that  has  been  created  by  the  prayers  of  the  service.  An 
organ  interlude  at  such  times  may  intensify  the  prevailing 
mood,  and  retain  the  attention  of  the  congregation  in  spite 
of  the  distraction.  In  like  manner  the  postlude  should 
stabilize  the  feeling  in  which  the  congregation  finds  itself 
at  the  close  of  the  service.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  however, 
many  organists  manage  to  dispel  that  feeling  immediately 
by  the  crashing,  militant  kind  of  number  selected  for  this 
part  of  the  service. 

We  have  been  thinking  of  the  pipe  organ.  But  the  con¬ 
gregation  which  cannot  afford  such  an  instrument  need  not 
despair  of  having  its  service  enriched  by  instrumental 
music,  for  these  effects  may  be  approximated  upon  a  reed 
organ  or  piano  by  a  good  musician.  Indeed,  some  leaders 
of  church  music  are  not  at  all  sure  that  a  pipe  organ  is  an 
unmixed  good.  ‘‘Given  a  small  congregation  that  is  not 
hearty  in  its  participation  in  the  service  of  song,  given  an 
organist  who  thinks  that  he  is  the  whole  thing  and  that  the 
more  stops  he  pulls  out  the  more  evident  is  his  musical 
capacity,  and  the  organ  becomes  a  thing  of  evil,  smothering 

1E.  S.  Lorenz,  Practical  Church  Music,  p.  4of.  Used  by  per¬ 
mission  of  Fleming  H.  Revell  Company. 


38 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


and  submerging  the  choir  and  congregation,  and  absolutely 
domineering  over  the  whole  service  and  neutralizing  all  its 
possibilities  for  good.  .  .  .  The  very  bigness  of  the  pipe 
organ  magnifies  the  mistakes  and  inefficiency  of  an  incom¬ 
petent  organist.”2 

The  personality  of  the  organist  is  more  important  than 
the  instrument.  His  function  is  ministerial  and  his  music 
should  be  a  genuine  expression  of  his  personal  faith,  hope, 
trust,  and  love.  Only  to  the  extent  to  which  his  playing  is 
self-revelation  will  he  contribute  largely  to  worship.  It 
must  follow  that  lack  of  respect  on  the  part  of  the  con¬ 
gregation  for  the  work  of  the  organist  is  exceedingly  repre¬ 
hensible.  Yet  how  commonly  members  of  the  congregation 
feel  at  liberty  to  visit  with  each  other  during  the  musical 
parts  of  the  service!  And  how  frequently  one  sees  even 
the  minister  conversing  with  a  guest  in  the  pulpit  at  these 
times !  It  is  always  a  solemn  thing  for  a  human  being  to 
unveil  the  deepest  feelings  of  his  heart  to  public  gaze. 
This  the  minister  does  in  his  public  prayers  and  sermon,  as 
the  organist  should  do  when  he  plays,  or  the  soloist  when 
he  sings.  If  irreverence  and  inattention  are  unseemly  in  the 
presence  of  the  one  at  such  a  time,  it  is  equally  so  in  the 
presence  of  the  others. 

2.  The  Choir.  The  mediaeval  church  regarded  member¬ 
ship  in  the  choir  as  a  clerical  office.  This  view  gradually 
developed  under  the  control  of  the  ascetic  ideal  which  re¬ 
quired  that  the  choir  should  be  composed  only  of  men  and 
boys,  and,  later,  only  of  priests.  Under  this  theory  the 
choir  came  to  monopolize  the  musical  part  of  the  service 
and  the  congregation  was  reduced  to  silence.  This  theory 
still  exists  in  the  Roman  Church,  but  is  modified  greatly  in 
its  practical  working.3  The  Protestant  conception  of  the 
priesthood  restored  to  the  congregation  its  right  to  par¬ 
ticipate  in  worship.  Nevertheless  in  some  modern  Prot- 

3Lorenz,  op.  cit.,  p.  373.  Used  by  permission  of  Fleming  H. 
Revell  Company. 

8J.  J.  Van  Oosterzee,  Practical  Theology ,  p.  386. 


MATERIALS  OF  WORSHIP 


39 


estant  churches  the  choir  has  again  absorbed  largely  the 
musical  part  of  the  service  and  the  congregation  participates 
most  sparingly  in  song.  This  has  come  about  through  a 
false  notion  of  the  function  of  the  choir — that  it  is  a  device 
for  adding  variety  to  the  service,  or  a  means  of  elevating 
the  musical  tastes  of  the  congregation,  or  of  ministering  to 
its  artistic  pride.  The  democratic  ideal  of  worship  requires 
that  the  choir  shall  he  thought  of  as  a  “specialized  segment 
of  the  congregation.”  As  such  it  must  assist  the  congre¬ 
gation  in  congregational  song  and  express,  as  the  representa¬ 
tive  of  the  congregation,  the  worship  of  the  people  in  mu¬ 
sical  forms  that  are  beyond  the  ability  of  the  untrained 
multitude.  I  have  not  found  a  more  satisfactory  statement 
of  this  principle  than  the  one  made  by  Pratt  in  his  Musical 
Ministries  in  the  Church ;4  “The  first  purpose  of  the  choir 
is  to  support  and  foster  congregational  singing.  .  .  .  Here 
I  mean  much  more  than  a  vague  -moral  sympathy.  I  mean, 
of  course,  that  a  first  reason  for  a  choir’s  existence  is  that 
it  may  furnish  a  vocal  nucleus  to  which  the  voices  of  the 
people  can  attach  themselves,  a  positive  mass  of  harmony  in 
which  every  singer  in  the  congregation  can  find  his  place 
with  confidence  and  comfort.  .  .  .  The  second  function  of 
the  choir  grows  directly  out  of  the  first.  .  .  .  Congrega¬ 
tional  hymn-singing  has  obvious  limitations  on  the  musical 
side.  It  can  hardly  be  expected,  save  in  exceptional  cases, 
to  pass  beyond  the  use  of  simple  forms  like  the  chant  and 
the  hymn  tune.  Yet  the  tonal  embodiment  of  prayer  and 
praise  and  of  declarative  utterances  of  all  kinds  tends  con¬ 
stantly  to  stretch  far  beyond  these  smaller  musical  forms. 
The  uses  of  music  for  these  expressive  purposes  are  surely 
not  to  be  confined  wholly  to  what  an  accidental,  heterogene¬ 
ous  and  untrained  assembly  can  'accomplish.  .  .  .  Here 
the  choir  comes  in  to  extend  and  supplement  congregational 
action  as  a  vicarious  agency.  Choir  music,  then,  is  partly 
designed  to  supply  forms  of  congregational  expression  that 

*Waldo  Selden  Pratt,  Musical  Ministries  in  the  Church,  p.  86ff. 
Used  by  permission  of  Fleming  H.  Revell  Company. 


40 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


the  people  in  general  are  technically  unable  to  offer  in 
person.” 

But  there  is  a  large  measure  of  truth  in  the  mediaeval 
conception  of  the  choir.  It  is  the  teacher  and  inspirer  of  the 
congregation  as  well  as  the  instrument  through  which  the 
congregation  expresses  its  adoration  and  praise.  In  the 
latter  respect  its  service  parallels  that  of  the  minister  in 
prayer;  in  the  former,  that  of  the  minister  in  preaching. 
At  one  moment  it  faces  toward  God  in  worshipful  address 
and  at  another  it  faces  the  congregation  with  instruction 
and  exhortation.5 

If  these  constitute  the  true  function  of  the  choir,  it  is 
obvious  that  the  purely  artistic  and  professional  interests 
of  the  singers  must  always  be  subordinated  to  the  religious 
in  selecting  and  rendering  choir  music.  They  do  not  sing 
primarily  to  entertain  the  congregation,  but  to  lead  the  peo¬ 
ple  into  a  spirit  of  prayer  and  worship.  However  great 
may  be  the  musical  skill  of  the  choir,  its  work  is  a  failure 
if  it  is  not  done  in  a  manner  which  increases  the  devotion 
of  the  congregation. 

As  to  form,  choirs  vary  greatly  in  America.  Some 
churches  prefer  the  choir  composed  of  men  and  boys. 
Others  have  especial  regard  for  the  mixed  quartet.  Gener¬ 
ally,  however,  the  choir  is  a  chorus  of  male  and  female 
voices.  Each  of  these  types  has  advantages  and  disadvan¬ 
tages.  The  fresh  voices  of  a  boys’  choir  are  delightful,  but 
the  problems  of  discipline  and  irregularity  of  attendance 
make  it  difficult  to  maintain.  The  quartet  is  easily  man¬ 
aged,  but  is  likely  to  be  controlled  by  purely  professional, 
artistic,  or  even  commercial  considerations.  The  volunteer 
chorus  is  democratic,  and  is  capable  of  producing  under 
proper  direction  effects  far  beyond  the  power  of  the  quartet. 
But  while  democracy  solves  some  problems  it  creates  others. 
The  irregularity  of  attendance  of  a  volunteer  chorus,  its 
quarrels  and  misunderstandings,  the  musical  shortcomings 
of  many  of  its  members,  and  the  wide  diversity  of  musical 


8Pratt,  op.  cit.,  p.  ioof. 


MATERIALS  OF  WORSHIP 


4i 


tastes  are  sources  of  constant  anxiety.  The  ideal  choir 
is  a  volunteer  chorus  built  around  a  quartet  so  that  there 
will  be  at  least  one  trained  voice  for  each  part.  In  the  in¬ 
terest  of  variety  it  may  be  wise  to  substitute  occasionally 
an  “adjunct  choir”  composed  of  boys,  or  girls,  or  young 
people  of  both  sexes,  for  the  regular  chorus. 

In  the  selection  of  music,6  the  leader  should  have  regard 
for  the  capacity  of  the  choir.  A  quartet  should  not  select 
music  which  can  be  rendered  effectively  only  by  a  chorus, 
and  a  chorus  should  not  choose  a  grade  of  music  beyond  its 
ability  to  sing  well.  The  capacity  of  the  congregation  must 
he  considered,  also .  A  kind  of  music  that  will  serve  ad¬ 
mirably  the  needs  of  some  congregations  will  distress  others. 
And  the  temporary  mood  of  the  congregation  must  he  taken 
into  account.  If  the  choir  is  to  express  for  the  congregation 
its  worshipful  feelings,  its  musical  forms  must  accord  with 
the  spirit  of  the  special  occasion.  Finally,  the  preference 
of  the  minister  who  has  charge  of  the  service  must  he  re¬ 
spected.  In  the  interest  of  unity  the  prevailing  considera¬ 
tion  in  selecting  the  music  cannot  be  the  preference  of  some 
member  of  the  choir  who  “likes”  a  certain  anthem,  but 
what  will  make  the  largest  contribution  to  the  service  as  the 
leader  has  planned  it.  This  implies,  of  course,  that  there 
must  be  the  closest  cooperation  between  minister  and  choir 
leader. 

The  subject  of  dress  may  become  engrossing  in  a  choir. 
Tastes  in  millinery  and  clothing  vary  so  greatly  and 
strangely  that  the  array  of  colors  and  styles  in  the  choir  may 
interfere  with  the  spirit  of  worship.  This  problem  may  be 
solved  in  one  of  two  ways :  require  all  to  wear  vestments  of 
black  or  white,  or  insist  upon  modest,  inconspicuous  cloth¬ 
ing  of  a  certain  general  type.  In  most  cases  the  latter  course 
will  be  more  advisable. 

If  the  choir  is  the  mouthpiece  of  the  congregation  ex¬ 
pressing  vicariously  the  praise  and  petitions  of  the  whole 
assembly,  it  should  be  composed  ideally  of  none  but  those 


“Lorenz,  op.  cit.,  pp.  293-298. 


42 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


who  love  God  and  desire  to  worship  him.  How  can  they 
worship  for  others  who  do  not  worship  for  themselves?  It 
does  not  follow,  however,  that  a  pastor  or  Music  Commit¬ 
tee  should  be  in  haste  to  expel  from  the  choir  all  so-called 
unconverted  people.  And,  certainly,  there  is  no  warrant 
for  making  church  membership  a  condition  of  membership 
in  the  choir.  Religious  experience  is  always  relative,  and 
there  are  many  whose  hearts  reach  Godward  but  whose 
spiritual  attainments  have  not  seemed  to  justify  a  public 
confession  of  faith.  Let  the  pastor  speak  often  to  the 
choir  of  the  ideals  that  should  control  them  in  their  work, 
exalting  the  ministerial  character  of  their  service,  and  this 
will  create  an  atmosphere  in  which  one  will  not  tarry  long 
who  does  not  find  it  congenial. 

Repeated  reference  has  been  made  to  the  relation  of  the 
pastor  to  the  choir.  The  importance  of  this  relation  cannot 
be  overemphasized.  The  finest  results  are  never  secured 
where  the  choir  has  a  large  sense  of  independence,  pre¬ 
suming  to  select  not  only  the  anthems  but  the  hymns  with¬ 
out  regard  for  the  plans  which  the  minister  may  have  for 
the  service.  This  lack  of  cooperation,  however,  is  charge¬ 
able  against  the  pastor  quite  as  often  as  against  the  choir. 
The  wise  pastor  will  take  the  choir  into  his  confidence,  re¬ 
vealing  his  ideals  for  their  common  work,  meeting  with 
them  frequently  at  rehearsals,  not  to  direct  them  but  to 
show  appreciation  of  them,  and  he  may  well  meet  them  as 
they  prepare  to  enter  the  service  for  a  moment  of  earnest 
prayer  that  the  spirit  of  worship  may  be  upon  him  and  them 
as  together  they  attempt  to  lead  others  in  worship.  This 
will  result  in  a  fellowship  which  will  be  mutually  delightful. 
The  pastor  should  be  final  authority  in  the  selection  of 
hymns  and  anthems,  but  he  will  be  careful  to  exercise  this 
authority  in  tactful  ways.  He  will  come  with  requests 
rather  than  commands,  and  will  covet  and  act  upon,  as  far 
as  possible,  suggestions  from  the  choir.  The  initiative,  of 
course,  in  all  these  matters,  must  come  from  him. 

3.  Congregational  Song.  Important  as  the  organ  md 


MATERIALS  OF  WORSHIP 


43 


choir  may  he,  “the  true  center  of  Protestant  music  must  al¬ 
ways  be  the  music  of  the  congregation.”  The  reason  ap¬ 
pears  in  the  fundamental  theory  of  Protestant  worship — 
that  worship  is  the  common  right  of  the  whole  body  of  be¬ 
lievers.  The  principal  means  through  which  the  congrega¬ 
tion  may  express  itself  collectively  is  congregational  song. 
This  is  one  of  the  indispensable  agencies  for  creating  and 
developing  religious  sentiment — an  important  means  of  im¬ 
pression  as  well  as  expression.  On  these  accounts  every 
pastor  should  be  eager  to  make  the  singing  of  the  congre¬ 
gation  as  effective  as  possible.  To  do  this  he  must  know 
something  of  the  history  and  religious  value  of  hymns. 

Congregational  singing  in  the  language  of  the  people  ante¬ 
dates  the  Reformation.7  As  early  as  1505  a.  d.  the  follow¬ 
ers  of  John  Hus  had  a  well-developed  body  of  hymns  and 
tunes  for  congregational  use.  Both  Luther  and  Calvin  ex¬ 
alted  this  element  of  worship,  but  the  influence  of  the  Ger¬ 
man  reformer  was  very  different  from  that  of  the  French¬ 
man.  Luther  cherished  a  great  affection  for  the  German 
folk-songs  and  the  old  Latin  hymns  which  were  a  part  of 
the  Daily  Office  of  the  Roman  Church.  The  fact  that  the 
hymn  was  a  free  composition,  and  not  merely  a  paraphrase 
of  Scripture,  did  not  make  it  objectionable  to  him.  On  the 
contrary,  he  found  it  to  be  a  most  effective  instrument  for 
spreading  the  new  gospel.  At  once  he  began  to  write  Ger¬ 
man  hymns  based  without  prejudice  upon  the  Scripture,  the 
old  Latin  and  Bohemian  hymns,  and  his  own  religious  ex¬ 
perience.  These  were  set  to  suitable  music  and  placed  in 
the  hands  of  the  people.  The  result  is  that  the  history  of 
German  hymnody  continues  without  interruption  from  the 
beginning  of  the  Reformation  until  the  present,  and  is  much 
richer  in  the  number  and  quality  of  its  hymns  than  is  Eng¬ 
lish  hymnody. 

Unlike  Luther,  Calvin  had  no  taste  either  for  the  popu- 

TThe  reader  is  referred  to  the  excellent  work  on  The  English 
Hymn,  by  Louis  F.  Benson,  for  the  history  and  development  of 

English  hymnody,  to  which  work  I  am  greatly  indebted. 


44 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


lar  songs  of  the  people  or  for  the  hymns  of  the  Latin 
Church.  He  approved  of  no  congregational  songs  except 
those  based  upon  Scripture,  and  practically  limited  himself 
to  metrical  versions  of  the  Psalms.  Thus  it  came  about  that 
wherever  Calvin’s  influence  predominated  in  the  spread 
of  the  Reformation,  psalm-singing,  as  distinguished  from 
hymn-singing,  characterized  Protestant  worship.  Because 
of  this,  English-speaking  peoples  became  psalm-sing¬ 
ers  and  remained  so  for  almost  two  centuries  after  the  Ref¬ 
ormation. 

Unfortunately,  the  men  who  made  the  earliest  metrical 
translation  of  the  Psalms  into  English — Sternhold  and  Hop¬ 
kins — were  neither  good  poets  nor  accurate  translators. 
Moreover,  the  Psalms  belonged  to  the  earlier  stages  of 
revelation,  and,  however  satisfying  they  may  have  been  for 
the  time  that  produced  them,  they  could  never  meet  the 
larger  demands  of  Christian  worship,  for  in  them  the  wor¬ 
shiper  could  not  name  the  name  of  Jesus.  Again,  some  of 
them  breathed  a  spirit  that  was  un-Christian.  During  the 
seventeenth  century  a  group,  including  such  Anglicans  as 
Bishop  Ken  and  John  Mason,  a  Catholic  like  John  Austin, 
and  a  Nonconformist  like  Richard  Baxter,  attempted  to 
“Christianize  the  Psalms,”  making  them  say  what  modern 
believers  would  say,  and  to  find  in  other  parts  of  the  Bible 
and  in  the  more  evangelical  Latin  hymns  the  materials  for 
congregational  songs.  Their  work  was  only  preparatory, 
however,  to  the  more  important  work  of  Isaac  Watts,  whose 
relation  to  the  Christian  hymn  is  at  least  comparable  with 
that  of  David  to  the  Hebrew  Psalm. 

Watts’  work  now  seems  unduly  restricted.  His  hymn- 
forms  were  practically  limited  to  the  three  simplest  meters 
— long,  common,  and  short.  For  the  materials  of  his  hymns 
he  refused  to  go  outside  the  Bible  on  the  ground  that  this 
contained  the  record  of  Christian  experience  in  all  its 
ranges,  and  therefore  no  occasion  was  found  for  going 
beyond  the  bounds  of  Scripture  for  hymn  themes.  More 
strangely  still,  he  declared  that  hymns  could  not  be  poetry 


MATERIALS  OF  WORSHIP 


45 


since  they  must  be  adapted  to  the  capacity  of  the  common 
mind.  He  claimed  no  more  for  his  own  hymns  than  that 
they  were  rimed  verse.  In  all  of  these  respects  his  ideals 
contrasted  sharply  with  those  of  the  Wesleys. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  conditions 
of  congregational  song  were  more  sorry,  if  possible,  in  the 
Church  of  England  than  among  Nonconformists.  The 
singing  of  psalms  “lined”  by  a  precentor  was  the  universal 
practice.  John  Wesley  described  the  custom  in  the  town 
churches  of  his  day  with  picturesque  adjectives:  “the  miser¬ 
able,  scandalous  doggerel  of  Sternhold  and  Hopkins”;  at 
first  droned  out  two  staves  at  a  time  “by  a  poor  humdrum 
wretch,”  and  then  “bawled  out”  by  a  handful  of  “wild,  un¬ 
wakened  striplings,”  “who  neither  feel  nor  understand” 
what  they  “scream,”  while  the  congregation  is  “lolling  at 
ease,  or  in  the  indecent  posture  of  sitting,  drawling  out  one 
word  after  another.”* * * 8  His  desire  to  improve  the  psalmody 
of  the  English  Church  is  responsible  for  his  contribution 
to  English  hymnody.  For,  according  to  Benson,  “the 
leader  who  played  the  part  in  Methodist  hymnody  which 
Calvin  had  taken  in  Huguenot  psalmody  was,  contrary  per¬ 
haps  to  the  general  impression,  John  Wesley,  and  not  his 
brother  Charles.  He  planned  it,  prepared  the  ground,  in¬ 
troduced  and  fostered  it,  molded  and  administered  it,  and 
also  restrained  its  excesses.”9 

The  Wesleys  were  trained  to  sing  both  psalms  and  hymns 
in  Ep worth  Rectory.  They  were  admirers  of  the  work  of 
W atts  and  used  his  Hymns  and  Songs  in  the  Holy  Club.  But 
it  remained  for  the  Moravians  to  reveal  to  them  the  su¬ 
periority  of  a  fervid  type  of  hymn-singing  over  the  unin¬ 
spiring  psalmody  of  the  Anglicans  and  the  Nonconformists. 
This  Moravian  influence  upon  Methodist  hymnody  is 
marked  by  the  number  of  hymns  translated  from  the  Ger- 

8Reprinted  and  condensed  from  The  English  Hymn,  p.  222,  by 

Louis  F.  Benson  by  permission  of  the  publishers,  George  H.  Doran 

Company. 

8Benson,  op.  cit.,  p.  220. 


46 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


man  and  by  the  spiritual  fervor  of  Methodist  singing, 
though  John  Wesley  repudiated  the  “whimsical  Allegories” 
and  “perverted  spiritualizations”  which  characterized  Mo¬ 
ravian  hymnody  about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

The  work  of  the  Wesleys  in  developing  the  English  hymn 
is  admittedly  second  only  to  Watts.  But  for  the  “reproach 
of  Methodism”  which  caused  Anglicans  and  Nonconform¬ 
ists  alike  to  hold  the  followers  of  Wesley  in  contempt,  their 
influence  might  have  been  even  greater.  Charles  wrote 
some  six  thousand  five  hundred  hymns,  though  it  is  only 
fair  to  say  that  many  of  these  were  so  mediocre  that  never 
more  than  seven  hundred  and  twenty-four  were  admitted 
to  any  Methodist  Hymnal ,  and  in  the  official  Methodist 
Hymnal,  adopted  in  1905,  the  number  is  reduced  to  one 
hundred  and  twenty.  The  best  of  these  are  found  in  the 
hymn  books  of  practically  all  Christian  bodies.  John  Wes¬ 
ley  enriched  the  store  of  English  hymns  not  so  much  by 
original  compositions  as  by  translating  from  the  German, 
by  “tinkering”  the  hymns  of  others,  and  by  editing  a  num¬ 
ber  of  hymn  books.  “His  equipment  for  this  undertaking,” 
says  Benson,  “was  his  sound  musical  feeling,  a  very  lim¬ 
ited  technical  knowledge,  and  an  unusual  practical  sense.”10 

More  important  than  the  number,  however,  was  the  new 
type  of  hymn  which  they  produced,  the  evangelistic  hymn 
based  upon  individual  Christian  experience.  Charles  Wesley 
“felt  an  impulse  to  translate  every  new  spiritual  experience 
into  song.  .  .  .  His  hymns  are  frankly  autobiographical. 
They  portray  without  any  effort  to  tone  down  his  own 
heightened  emotions  to  the  average  level,  his  personal 
spiritual  history :  his  unrest  and  even  agony  under  bondage 
to  the  law,  his  instantaneous  conversion  and  assurance  of 
faith,  the  period  of  ecstatic  joy,  the  ups  and  downs  of  the 
pilgrim  progress  to  the  ‘second  rest/  his  delight  in  the  an¬ 
ticipation  of  death.”11  Naturally,  this  type  of  hymn  sung 

10Benson,  op.  cit.,  p.  239. 

“Reprinted  from  The  English  Hymn,  p.  249,  by  Louis  F.  Benson, 
by  permission  of  the  publishers,  George  H.  Doran  Company. 


MATERIALS  OF  WORSHIP 


47 


by  the  multitudes  with  fervor  created  the  kind  of  experience 
which  gave  it  birth,  and  Methodist  singing  became  the  most 
powerful  single  agent  in  the  Methodist  revival. 

Furthermore,  the  Wesleys  improved  the  literary  quality 
of  the  hymn.  In  contrast  with  Watts,  whose  measured 
verse  was  “written  down  to  the  level  of  the  meanest  ca¬ 
pacity,”  they  insisted  that  “the  hymn  should  be  a  religious 
lyric”  and  that  the  capacity  of  the  people  should  be  leveled 
up  to  an  appreciation  of  the  beauties  of  true  poetry.  There 
is  reason  to  think  that  some  modem  Methodists  are  fol¬ 
lowing  Watts  rather  than  Wesley  in  the  use  of  “rimed 
verse"  instead  of  poetry  in  congregational  singing. 

The  history  of  the  English  hymn,  after  Watts  and  Wes¬ 
ley,  breaks  up  into  many  diverging  streams  under  denomina¬ 
tional,  literary,  and  revivalistic  influences.  A  brief  study 
of  the  authors’  index  of  the  latest  Methodist  Hymnal  will 
suggest  the  extent  to  which  hymnody  was  enriched  during 
the  nineteenth  century  by  contributions  from  every  one 
of  the  more  important  religious  bodies,  and  of  the  catholic 
spirit  of  their  work.  The  same  book,  too,  shows  the  influ¬ 
ence  of  broader  literary  standards  which  admit  a  type  of 
religious  lyric  not  regarded  heretofore  as  adapted  to  public 
worship,  for  example,  Holland’s  “There’s  a  Star  in  the 
Sky,”  and  Lanier’s  “Into  the  Woods  My  Master  Went.” 
The  revival  movements  of  the  last  century  created  a  new 
body  of  spiritual  songs  designed  to  make  an  immediate  ap¬ 
peal  to  the  popular  mind.  The  inferior  quality  of  most  of 
these  songs  will  prevent  their  admission  into  church  hym¬ 
nody,  though  this  may  not  apply  to  some  of  the  nobler 
“’Gospel  Songs”  of  Moody  and  Sankey  when  the  copyrights 
expire. 

Change  in  religious  thought  and  feeling  is  bound  to  be 
reflected  in  time  in  a  new  type  of  church  song.  The  influ¬ 
ences  at  work  at  the  present  time  to  modify  the  English 
hymn  are  mainly  theological  and  social.  The  modern  point 
of  view  respecting  these  matters  appears  conspicuously  in 
the  new  Congregational  Hymn  Book,  The  Pilgrim  Hymnal , 


48 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


published  in  1904.  Doubtless  we  shall  see  further  evidences 
of  these  influences  in  other  denominational  hymnals  in  the 
near  future. 

The  value  of  a  hymn  is  determined,  of  course,  by  the 
degree  in  which  it  serves  the  purpose  of  congregational 
song.  We  have  noticed  already  that  it  is  useful  in  unifying 
the  many  individualities  into  a  single  group-self.  This  may 
justify  at  times  the  use  of  an  inferior  or  even  a  nonreligious 
song  at  the  beginning  of  the  service.  Such  songs  as  “The 
Church  in  the  Wildwood,”  “Beautiful  Isle  of  Somewhere,” 
and  “Brighten  the  Corner  Where  You  Are,”  possess  in 
themselves  little  or  no  religious  value,  for  they  do  not  ex¬ 
press  any  definite  religious  faith.  They  are  sentimental 
rather  than  religious.  It  is  the  music  rather  than  the  stanzas 
which  accomplish  the  effect  produced  by  such  songs.  The 
rhythm  of  the  music  tends  to  bring  all  together  into  a  com¬ 
mon  state  of  emotion  that  is  indispensable  to  a  successful 
service.  “I  Love  to  Tell  the  Story,”  “He  Leadeth  Me,”  and 
“O  Sometimes  the  Shadows  are  Deep,”  set  to  the  tunes  com¬ 
monly  associated  with  them,  possess  the  same  unifying 
power  and,  in  addition,  have  a  definite  religious  content,  for 
they  are  genuine  expressions  of  personal  faith  in  God.  The 
former  type  of  song  could  never  be  used  appropriately  in 
any  except  an  informal  service,  and  even  then  only  at  a 
point  in  the  service  where  the  rhythm  of  the  music  was 
more  important  than  the  thought  expressed  in  the  words. 

Again,  congregational  singing  is  the  most  effective  method 
of  expressing  collective  prayer  and  praise.  For  this  pur¬ 
pose  the  ephemeral  “gospel  song,”  whose  effect  is  physical 
rather  than  spiritual,  and  due  to  the  music  rather  than  the 
words,  is  unworthy.  As  an  expression  of  faith  it  is  too 
often  inane.  John  Wesley  instructed  his  preachers  to  in¬ 
terrupt  the  “noisy  hymn”  and  ask  the  congregation  a  few 
questions  like  the  following:  “Now,  do  you  know  what  you 
said  last?  Did  it  suit  your  case ?  Did  you  sing  it  as  to  God, 
with  the  spirit  and  understanding  also?”  Such  an  inter¬ 
ruption  is  not  only  a  test  of  the  soberness  of  the  congrega- 


MATERIALS  OF  WORSHIP 


49 


tion  but  also  a  very  severe  test  of  the  quality  of  the  hymn. 
To  raise  such  questions  about  some  of  the  songs  used  com¬ 
monly  in  public  services  would  be  deadly.  For  no  one 
really  means  what  the  songs  say,  and  the  realization  of  this 
would  cause  the  congregation  to  turn  away  from  them  in 
disgust.  There  is  a  place  in  social  worship  for  the 
rhythmical,  mediocre  song — but  it  is  not  a  large  place.  "God 
has  a  right  to  be  worshiped  with  the  best  we  have.”  And 
when  the  aim  of  the  song  is  to  express  a  living  and  rational 
faith,  none  but  the  songs  that  are  lofty  in  thought  and  dig¬ 
nified  in  expression  are  worthy  either  of  God  or  the  con¬ 
gregation.  It  may  be  that  for  a  time  a  minister  must  ac¬ 
commodate  himself  to  the  limitations  of  a  congregation  that 
is  lacking  in  appreciation  of  the  better  hymns  and  is  in¬ 
capable  of  singing  them,  but  he  should  be  ashamed  to  leave 
them  long  in  that  condition.  He  can  do  nothing  that  will 
have  a  more  favorable  effect  upon  their  spiritual  lives  than 
teach  them  to  express  their  praise  in  worthy  musical  forms. 

A  third  function  of  congregational  singing,  which  con¬ 
stitutes  a  third  test  of  the  value  of  a  song,  appears  in  its 
effect  upon  the  individuals  that  compose  the  congregation. 
It  is  a  means  of  impressing  as  well  as  expressing  religious 
truth.  Doctor  Pratt  says,  "The  value  of  any  particular  hymn 
is  partly  to  be  judged  by  the  state  of  opinion  and  senti¬ 
ment  in  which  it  actually  leaves  you.  Is  it  true  in  its 
thought  of  God  and  Christ,  in  its  reference  to  all  the  mani¬ 
fold  aspects  of  sin  and  salvation,  in  its  representation  of  the 
spiritual  life?  And  is  it  healthy  in  general  tone,  affecting 
in  its  imagery  and  masterful  in  its  progress,  and  sufficiently 
noble  to  awaken  enthusiasm  for  what  it  treats?  These  are 
severe  tests,  but  are  they  not  fair  ones?”12  In  this  respect 
the  modern  gospel  song  again  appears  unworthy.  Its 
thought  of  God  and  Christ  is  often  very  far  from  true,  its 
ethical  tone  is  generally  individualistic,  and  its  imagery  and 


12 Musical  Ministries  in  the  Church,  p.  67.  Used  by  permission  of 
the  publishers,  Fleming  H.  Revell  Company. 


50 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


forms  of  expression  often  are  so  lacking  in  nobility  that 
one  is  repelled  rather  than  attracted  to  the  subject. 

If  these  constitute  the  true  function  of  congregational 
singing,  it  must  be  that  the  hymn  stands  in  its  own  right  in 
the  service,  co-ordinate  with,  and  not  subordinate  to  the 
sermon.  Both,  however,  must  contribute  cooperatively  to 
the  movement  of  the  service  in  a  given  direction.  The  hymn 
need  not  deal  directly  with  the  subjects  treated  in  the  ser¬ 
mon,  but  it  should  create  a  congenial  atmosphere  and  ex¬ 
press  a  spirit  that  is  kindred  to  that  of  the  sermon.  This 
is  especially  true  of  the  first  and  second  hymns  of  the  Meth¬ 
odist  Order  of  Worship.  Many  ministers  prefer  that  the 
closing  hymn  should  reinforce  directly  the  thought  of  the 
sermon,  intensifying  the  emotional  response  of  the  congre¬ 
gation.  Finally,  it  is  evident  that  the  leader  of  public  wor¬ 
ship  is  the  only  person  who  is  in  position  to  select  the  con¬ 
gregational  songs  intelligently. 

Let  us  attempt  to  select  some  hymns  by  way  of  illustrating 
the  principles  just  stated.  Assume  that  the  aim  of  the 
service  is  to  lead  the  congregation  into  an  appreciation  of 
the  value  of  prayer.  The  sermon,  of  course,  should  deal 
with  the  subject  in  a  way  to  clear  up  intellectual  confusion 
and  arouse  the  will  to  pray.  What  hymns  should  be  chosen 
from  The  Methodist  Hymnal  for  this  service?  Inasmuch 
as  prayer  is  communion  with  God,  the  opening  hymn  may 
properly  express  the  joy  which  the  devout  heart  experiences 
in  divine  fellowship  and  should  be  set  to  a  rhythmical  tune 
whose  spirit  accords  with  that  of  the  hymn.  We  might  well 
use  hymn  No.  330,  beginning, 

“My  hope  is  built  on  nothing  less 
Than  Jesus’  blood  and  righteousness”; 

or  better,  perhaps,  hymn  No.  364,  beginning, 

“My  Saviour,  on  the  word  of  truth 
In  earnest  hope  I  live” ; 

or  hymn  No.  540,  which  begins,  “O  could  I  speak  the 
matchless  worth.”  If  the  Creed,  Prayer,  Anthem,  and 


MATERIALS  OF  WORSHIP 


5i 


Scripture  Lesson  shall  have  been  used  advantageously,  the 
atmosphere  will  be  sufficiently  worshipful,  that  the  second 
hymn  may  be  much  more  stately  than  the  first.  Cowper’s 
hymn,  No.  454,  is  now  appropriate: 

“Sometimes  a  light  surprises 
The  Christian  while  he  sings.” 

For  the  closing  hymn,  one  should  be  selected  with  the  wist¬ 
ful  note,  dealing  directly  with  the  subject  of  prayer  and 
strengthening  newly  formed  resolutions  to  pray.  Hymn 
No.  495  is  good:  “From  every  stormy  wind  that  blows”;  or 
hymn  No.  355,  “Love  divine,  all  loves  excelling.” 

In  announcing  hymns  the  leader  is  bound  to  give  them 
the  consideration  to  which  they  are  entitled  as  the  most 
important  means  for  the  expression  of  collective  worship. 
They  should  not  be  announced  indifferently,  as  though  the 
aim  were  simply  to  do  a  conventional  thing  or  to  fill  up  the 
time,  but  earnestly  as  though  there  were  nothing  more  im¬ 
portant  at  that  moment  than  to  sing  that  particular  hymn 
in  the  right  manner.  Whether  or  not  the  hymn  shall  be 
read,  wholly  or  in  part,  depends  upon  the  purpose  of  the 
leader  in  reading.  If  he  desires  to  call  attention  to  its  sig¬ 
nificance  for  life  and  religious  experience  let  him  read  by 
all  means.  But  if  the  reading  is  done  mechanically  and  for 
no  serious  purpose,  the  door  is  opened  immediately  to  un¬ 
reality.  Better  no  reading  at  all  than  this  kind. 

It  follows  that  the  minister  should  be  a  diligent  and  life¬ 
long  student  of  hymns  and  tunes.  He  should  see  to  it  that 
his  own  acquaintance  with  congregational  song  is  con¬ 
stantly  growing  and  should  manage  to  introduce  such  va¬ 
riety  of  singing  into  the  worship  of  the  church  and  Sunday 
school  that  the  people  will  come  to  love  the  best  in  church 
music.  Let  him  magnify  the  official  hymnal  of  the  church 
and  master  its  music  and  poetry.  He  should  teach  a  new 
hymn  to  the  congregation  frequently,  and  sing  it  often  until 
it  is  familiar.  He  may  give  pleasing  variety  to  regular  serv¬ 
ices  by  telling  historical  incidents  connected  with  many  of 


52 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


the  great  hymns.  To  guard  against  a  narrow  range  of 
choice,  he  should  keep  a  record  of  hymns  used  on  the  suc¬ 
cessive  Sundays  of  the  year,  avoiding  frequent  repetition  of 
the  more  familiar  numbers. 

Books  Recommended  for  Further  Study 

Waldo  Selden  Pratt,  Musical  Ministries  in  the  Church. 

E.  S.  Lorenz,  Practical  Church  Music. 

Louis  F.  Benson,  The  English  Hymn;  Studies  of  Familiar  Hymns. 

Edward  S.  Ninde,  The  Story  of  the  American  Hymn. 

Edward  Dickinson,  Music  in  the  History  of  the  Western  Church. 

Peter  C.  Lutkin,  Music  in  the  Church. 

Nutter  and  Tillett,  The  Hymns  and  Hymn  Writers  of  the  Church 
Hymnal. 

Carl  F.  Price,  The  Music  and  Hymnody  of  the  Methodist  Hymnal. 

John  M.  Walker,  Better  Music  in  Our  Churches. 


CHAPTER  IV 


MATERIALS  OF  WORSHIP— PRAYERS 

Worship  is  prayer,  and  in  social  worship  the  prayers  nor¬ 
mally  should  be  the  strongest  parts  of  the  service.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  they  are  generally  the  weakest,  overshadowed 
by  both  the  sermon  and  the  music.  A  thoughtful  liturgist 
inquires,  “Is  it  not  true  that  you  have  heard  from  the  same 
lips  a  sermon  orderly,  clear,  virile,  and  a  prayer  rambling, 
indefinite,  and  vapid;  the  former  being  a  presentation  of 
well-considered,  well  arranged  and  important  truth,  fe¬ 
licitously  expressed ;  the  latter  ill-considered,  poorly  ar¬ 
ranged  thought,  born  of  struggle  so  apparent  or  following 
a  rut  so  wearily  worn  as  to  destroy  all  sense  of  spiritu¬ 
ality?”1  To  learn  to  pray  is  the  most  important  part  of  a 
minister’s  task.  Beecher  used  to  declare  that  “he  who 
knows  how  to  pray  for  his  people  need  not  trouble  to  preach 
for  them  or  to  them.”2 

i.  Defects  in  Public  Prayers. — a.  Among  the  more  com¬ 
mon  defects  which  mar  public  worship,  unreality  must  be 
named  first.  This  may  appear  in  mock  humility  and  exag¬ 
gerated  self-depreciation  on  the  part  of  the  liturgist,  in  af¬ 
fected  fervor  and  highly  rhetorical  address  to  Deity,  or  in 
the  mechanical  manner  in  which  the  prayer  is  made.  What¬ 
ever  else  should  be  true  of  it,  a  worthy  prayer  must  be  a 
sincere  and  unaffected  expression  of  feeling. 

b.  Carelessness ,  amounting  to  flippancy  and  irreverence, 
destroys  the  value  of  many  prayers.  This  may  appear  in 
the  formlessness  of  the  prayer — wandering,  incoherent, 
empty  of  intelligible  ideas,  as  if  no  preparation  had  been 
made  for  this  act  of  worship.  Or  it  may  appear  in  the 

falling,  op.  cit.,  p.  i6f. 

'Yale  Lectures,  II,  p.  47. 

53 


54 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


manner  of  him  who  leads — matter-of-fact,  familiar,  lacking 
awe  and  humility. 

c.  Other  prayers  are  spoiled  by  flattery  and  compli¬ 
mentary  references  to  men  in  their  presence.  Who  has  not 
been  sickened  by  something  as  reprehensible  as  the  follow¬ 
ing:  ‘‘Bless,  we  pray  thee,  our  beloved  brother.  We  thank 
thee  for  the  wonderful  work  he  is  doing  and  the  powerful 
sermon  to  which  we  have  just  listened”?  The  author  of  a 
valuable  treatise  on  worship  well  says,  “Appreciation  of 
God’s  servants  at  home  or  abroad  has  a  rightful  place  in 
prayer,  but  is  no  warrant  for  fulsome  praise  in  their  pres¬ 
ence.” 

d.  Charles  H.  Spurgeon  was  particularly  provoked  with 
prayers  overloaded  with  endearing  words.  “When  ‘Dear 
Lord,’  and  ‘Blessed  Lord,’  and  ‘Sweet  Jesus’  come  over  and 
over  again  as  vain  repetitions,  they  are  among  the  worst 
of  blots,”  he  believed. 

e.  Prayers  are  denatured  when,  under  the  guise  of  ad¬ 
dressing  Deity,  they  become  sermons  to  the  congregation 
on  doctrinal,  political,  historical,  or  personal  matters.  Such 
“preaching  prayers”  are  not  prayers  at  all. 

/.  Frequent  repetition  of  the  divine  name  is  to  he  avoided. 
A  good  rule  in  this  matter  would  be  to  use  the  name  of  God 
only  when  it  will  add  emphasis.  Likewise  all  other  repe¬ 
titious  words  and  phrases  detract  from  the  impressiveness 
of  devotion.  This  is  always  due  to  disconnected  thought. 
One  who  has  a  perfectly  clear  notion  of  what  he  wants  to 
say  will  express  it  freely. 

g.  Other  common  faults,  without  attempting  an  ex¬ 
haustive  catalogue,  are  shouting,  wild  gestures,  rapid  speech, 
drawling,  monotone,  crudities  of  all  kinds.  In  addressing 
the  infinite  God  we  should  be  at  least  as  circumspect  as  when 
speaking  to  “the  leading  citizen”  in  our  town. 

2.  The  Principles  of  Effective  Prayer.  In  correcting 
the  faults  of  public  prayer  one  should  keep  before  him  the 
great  principles  which  make  for  effectiveness  in  this  act  of 
worship,  and  seek  constantly  to  apply  them  to  himself. 


MATERIALS  OF  WORSHIP 


55 


a .  It  must  be  evident  that  the  very  first  of  these  is 
reality  in  religious  experience.  To  pray  well  in  public  one 
must  pray  much  in  private.  And  he  must  carry  the  at¬ 
mosphere  of  one  who  knows  God  at  first  hand,  who  is  sure 
of  the  unseen  world  of  spirit,  and  power,  and  goodness, 
and  who  speaks  with  the  quiet  assurance  of  perfect  knowl¬ 
edge  and  sincerity. 

b.  The  second  principle  derives  from  the  Protestant 
theory  that  worship  is  the  function  of  the  entire  congrega¬ 
tion,  and  that  all  public  prayer  is  “common  prayer,”  even 
when  expressed  by  a  single  person.  One  who  “leads  in 
prayer”  speaks  not  for  himself  alone,  but  in  a  representative 
capacity.  He  is  merely  the  mouthpiece  through  which  the 
congregation  pours  its  collective  confession,  repentance, 
adoration,  and  praise.  He  must,  then,  not  only  identify 
himself  with  God  through  the  transparent  genuineness  of 
his  religious  faith,  but  also  with  the  congregation  in  those 
experiences  and  feelings  which  all  share  together.  It  is  the 

-  common  sorrow,  the  common  sin,  the  common  need,  and  the 
common  aspiration  that  should  find  expression  in  his  public 
prayers — not  the  experiences  that  are  purely  personal  to 
himself.  To  this  he  pledges  himself  when  he  suggests, 
“Let  us  pray,”  rather  than,  “I  shall  pray.”  He  must  not 
allow  himself  under  these  circumstances  to  be  mastered  by 
private  considerations  of  health,  weariness,  depressing 
moods,  or  individual  sorrow.  One  of  the  greatest  things 
the  late  Theodore  Roosevelt  ever  did  was  to  make  an  ad¬ 
dress  before  a  political  convention  the  day  after  his  son 
Quentin  was  reported  lost,  without  referring  in  any  way  to 
his  individual  grief,  though  the  whole  country  knew  about 
it.  In  similar  fashion  the  minister  must  repress  in  his 
public  prayers  all  personal  matters,  giving  right  of  way 
only  to  that  which  is  general.  Only  so  can  he  make  himself 
a  perfect  mouthpiece  for  collective  prayer.  Henry  Ward 
Beecher  expresses  this  sense  of  oneness  with  the  congre¬ 
gation  admirably: 

“Hundreds  and  hundreds  of  times  as  I  rose  to  pray  and 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


56 

glanced  at  the  congregation  I  could  not  keep  back  the  tears. 
There  came  to  my  mind  such  a  sense  of  their  wants,  there 
were  so  many  hidden  sorrows,  there  were  so  many  weights 
and  burdens,  there  were  so  many  doubts,  there  were  so 
many  states  of  weakness,  there  were  so  many  dangers,  so 
many  perils,  there  were  so  many  histories — not  world  his¬ 
tories,  but  eternal-world  histories — I  had  such  a  sense  of 
compassion  for  them,  my  soul  so  longed  for  them,  that  it 
seemed  to  me  as  if  I  could  scarcely  open  my  mouth  to 
speak  for  them.  And  when  I  take  my  people  and  carry 
them  before  God  to  plead  for  them,  I  never  plead  for  myself 
as  I  do  for  them — I  never  could.”3 

c.  The  third  principle  is  preparation.  If  speaking  to 
the  people  is  a  solemn  privilege  for  which  one  should 
make  the  most  careful  preparation,  speaking  for  them 
in  prayer  is  no  less  solemn,  demanding  equal  dili¬ 
gence  beforehand.  But,  strangely  enough,  comparatively 
few  ministers  prepare  their  prayers  as  painstakingly  as  they 
do  their  sermons.  With  some  this  is  sheer  negligence.  With 
others  it  is  the  result  of  a  fanatical  notion  that  such  prepara¬ 
tion  would  interfere  with  the  movement  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
— as  if  the  Holy  Spirit  despised  our  normal  faculties  and 
declined  to  operate  except  through  the  impulsive,  the  un¬ 
premeditated,  and  undisciplined  moods  of  the  heart  and 
mind.  Let  us  “no  more  venture  into  the  pulpit  with  an 
impromptu  prayer  than  with  an  impromptu  sermon.” 

This  preparation  should  be  double — (1)  a  preparation 
of  the  heart  of  the  liturgist  by  private  prayer  and  medita¬ 
tion  to  induce  the  mood  and  spirit  of  worship,  and  (2)  a 
preparation  of  the  mind  by  carefully  selecting  the  ideas  that 
are  to  be  incorporated  into  the  prayer  and  arranging  them 
in  the  most  effective  manner  so  that  the  prayer  will  be  some¬ 
thing  more  than  a  disorderly  “medley  of  phrases  devoid  of 
intelligible  order.”  This  latter  preparation  may  well  go 
as  far  as  the  actual  writing  of  the  prayer.  It  is  not  incom¬ 
patible  with  extemporaneousness,  which  implies  merely  the 


‘Yale  Lectures,  II,  p.  46. 


MATERIALS  OF  WORSHIP 


57 


free  utterance  of  that  which  has  been  well  considered 
previously. 

In  organizing  the  materials  of  the  prayer  we  must 
have  regard  for  the  principles  of  composition  which  control 
in  the  creation  of  all  literary  forms. 

(1)  First,  the  prayer  must  have  a  definite  plan.  Its 
character  will  depend  upon  the  nature  and  the  occasion  of 
the  service.  If  there  is  nothing  exceptional  in  the  setting, 
the  prayer  may  be  general  in  its  scope,  comprehensive, 
rather  than  particular,  in  its  emphases.  If  the  occasion  is 
“special,”  the  plan  will  be  shaped  accordingly,  larger  place 
being  made  for  the  matter  rendered  conspicuous  by  the 
time  and  place.  The  one  who  prays  should  know  exactly 
the  direction  his  prayer  will  take  and  the  particular  steps 
by  which  he  is  to  proceed. 

(2)  A  plan  implies  a  sense  of  completeness  and  unity 
when  the  prayer  is  finished.  Every  part  must  be  related  to 
the  central  idea  which  unifies  all  into  a  single  whole.  Re¬ 
spect  for  this  principle  of  unity,  moreover,  will  keep  out 
everything  that  is  foreign  to  the  main  matter.  Again,  it 
will  not  overlook  any  important  item  that  should  be  in¬ 
cluded.  “How  often  in  extemporaneous  prayer  one  hears 
many  subjects  introduced,  none  of  them  completed,  nor  the 
whole  rounded  out  in  such  proportions  as  to  have  a  distinct 
effect — a  bundle  of  scraps,  no  more  like  an  organism  than 
a  parcel  of  legs,  arms,  fingers,  and  ears  resemble  the  human 
body.” 

(3)  The  plan  can  be  unfolded  only  gradually.  This  re¬ 
quires  movement  and  action  in  the  development  of  the 
prayer,  precisely  as  is  required  in  the  development  of  a 
story.  In  the  absence  of  this  “travel  of  thought”  from 
point  to  point,  producing  a  sense  of  change,  the  attention 
soon  wearies,  and  interest  fails  through  monotonous  repeti¬ 
tion.  Movement,  then,  should  be  rapid  enough  to  hold  the 
attention.  And  under  the  control  of  the  unifying  idea  it 
should  be  orderly  enough  to  be  followed  easily. 

(4)  This  movement  should  rise  steadily  from  point  to 


58 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


point  until  the  highest  of  all — the  climax — has  been  reached. 
Then  the  prayer  should  be  concluded.  This  upward  move¬ 
ment  is  not  merely  one  of  thought,  but  of  feeling  as  well. 
For  a  prayer  is  less  a  “train  of  thought”  than  a  “train  of 
emotions.” 

(5)  The  introduction  of  the  prayer  usually  consists  of 
such  ascriptions  to  Deity  as  are  appropriate  to  the  dominant 
note  in  the  prayer.  If  it  is  a  prayer  of  thanksgiving,  then 
God  may  be  thought  of  as  the  gracious  Father  and  Bene¬ 
factor  of  men.  If  a  prayer  for  help,  as  the  Almighty  and 
Omnipotent.  For  a  typical  example,  take  the  familiar  col¬ 
lect  for  purity  which  is  a  prayer  for  cleansing: 

Introduction:  “Almighty  God,  unto  whom  all  hearts 
are  open,  all  desires  known,  and  from  whom  no  secrets  are 
hid:” 

Petition:  “Cleanse  the  thoughts  of  our  hearts  by  the  in¬ 
spiration  of  thy  Holy  Spirit,  that  we  may  perfectly  love 
thee,  and  worthily  magnify  thy  holy  name;  through  Jesus 
Christ  our  Lord.  Amen.” 

(6)  The  conclusion  of  the  prayer  should  be  appropriate 
to  what  has  preceded,  and  should  be  brief.  Most  of  the 
prayers  in  that  excellent  volume,  The  Temple,  by  W.  E. 
Orchard,  close  almost  abruptly  with  a  simple  “Amen.” 
More  commonly  the  conclusion  cites  the  authority  by  which 
the  requests  are  made  or  consists  of  an  adoring  phrase  ad¬ 
dressed  to  some  Person  of  the  Trinity: 

“Through  Jesus  Christ,  our  Lord.  Amen.” 

“For  Jesus’  sake.  Amen.” 

“That  we  may  glorify  thy  holy  name.  Amen.” 

“Through  the  merits  of  thy  Son,  Jesus  Christ.  Amen.” 

“Through  him  who  liveth  and  reigneth  with  thee  and  the 
Holy  Ghost,  now  and  forever.  Amen.” 

“To  the  honor  and  glory  of  thy  name.  Amen.” 

(7)  The  ideal  public  prayer  will  be  simple  and  chaste  as 
to  language.  There  will  be  no  long  or  involved  sentences. 
The  words,  for  the  most  part,  will  be  of  one  or  two  sylla¬ 
bles.  Vulgarisms  and  slang  will  have  no  place  in  them 


MATERIALS  OF  WORSHIP 


59 


Terms  that  are  low  and  coarse  and  also  high  and  inflated 
should  be  avoided. 

d.  The  materials  of  public  prayer  consist  of  Confession, 
Petition,  Thanksgiving,  and  Intercession.  It  is  possible  to 
avoid  monotony  of  subject  and  method  by  tabulating,  for 
one’s  private  use,  under  these  general  headings,  items  that 
properly  may  be  incorporated  into  one’s  prayers.  The  fol¬ 
lowing  catalogue,  which  is  only  suggestive,  is  an  abbrevia¬ 
tion  of  the  “Summaries”  made  by  James  Burns,  M.A.,  in 
A  Pulpit  Manual,  pages  67-77, 4  though  I  have  presumed  to 
add  certain  themes  suggested  by  our  new  social  ideals. 

Confession 

(-0  Sins  of  Daily  Life 

Love  of  self;  of  ease;  of  money;  of  display.  Indifference  to 
spiritual  things;  neglect  of  duty;  blindness  to  the  unseen. 

( 2 )  Sins  Against  Oar  Fellowmen 

Unkindness  in  judgment;  lack  of  courtesy  and  forbearance;  sel¬ 
fishness  and  hardness  of  heart  toward  the  needs  of  others;  lack  of 
sympathy  with  their  sorrows  and  losses ;  neglect  of  the  poor,  the 
weak,  and  the  erring. 

(3)  Sins  Against  God 

Ingratitude  for  daily  mercies ;  unfaithfulness  in  duty,  and  con¬ 
stant  forgetfulness;  neglect  of  prayer;  indifference  in  worship; 
want  of  love  and  zeal  for  spiritual  things ;  betraying  Christ  through 
the  worldliness  of  our  lives. 

(4)  Sins  of  Mind  and  Heart 

Vanity,  pride,  boastfulness,  impatience,  intolerance,  lack  of  con¬ 
sideration  for  the  opinions  of  others.  Want  of  love  and  compas¬ 
sion  toward  others ;  selfish  absorption  in  ourselves  which  makes 
us  callous ;  insincerity ;  indulging  in  vain,  frivolous,  and  empty 
conversation;  using  the  language  of  devotion  without  the  spirit; 
uttering  hot,  passionate,  and  unkind  words  when  we  ought  to  have 
remained  silent ;  remaining  silent  when  we  ought  to  have  spoken. 
Our  indolence  and  evil  temper ;  our  worldly  discontent  at  the 
success  of  others ;  our  acts  of  dishonesty  and  deceitfulness  in  our 
relations  to  our  fellowmen.  Our  forgotten  vows  and  neglected 


4Used  by  permission  of  The  Pilgrim  Press. 


6o 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


opportunities;  the  sorrows  which  have  brought  no  repentance,  and 
the  heavenly  pleadings  which  we  have  disregarded;  the  things  left 
undone,  and  those  which  we  ought  not  to  have  done;  the  sins  and 
weakness  which  mar  our  best  moments,  so  that  even  when  we 
would  do  good,  evil  is  present  with  us. 

(5)  Sins  of  the  Congregation 

The  poverty,  languidness,  and  frequent  irreverence  of  our  wor¬ 
ship  ;  the  worldly  thoughts  and  business  cares  which  we  allow  to 
distract  our  minds ;  the  coldness  of  our  praises  and  the  feebleness 
of  our  prayers ;  our  unwillingness  to  part  with  our  possessions  for 
the  extension  of  Christ’s  kingdom;  our  indifference  toward  the  sin¬ 
ful  without  and  the  lost  and  erring  around  our  doors. 

(6)  Sins  of  the  Nation 

Our  love  of  wealth,  and  greedy  pursuit  of  material  prosperity; 
the  pride  and  haughtiness  which  we  show  toward  other  peoples ; 
our  increasing  love  of  luxury  and  display  in  our  public  life;  the 
decline  of  worship,  the  public  neglect  of  the  Day  of  Rest;  our  indif¬ 
ference  toward  social  wrong  and  injustice,  and  our  neglect  of  the 
poor,  the  suffering,  and  the  weak. 

(7)  Sins  of  Social  and  Industrial  Groups 

Our  failure  to  apply  Christian  principles  of  conduct  to  indus¬ 
trial  relationships ;  our  disregard  of  human  values ;  the  subordina¬ 
tion  of  human  welfare  to  profit  and  power;  and  inability  to  do  the 
work  of  the  world  in  the  spirit  of  brotherhood ;  our  exploitation 
of  childhood  and  womanhood;  our  indifference  to  the  effect  of  in¬ 
dustry  upon  the  home;  our  industrial  wars. 

Petition 

(1)  For  Forgiveness 

For  all  sins;  for  omissions  of  duty;  for  every  unkind  word,  evil 
thought  or  imagination;  for  every  sinful  deed,  for  everything  in 
past  conduct  which  has  merited  judgment. 

(2)  For  Cleansing 

From  the  stains  and  impurities  wrought  in  us  by  sin  and  the 
world ;  cleansing  of  the  conscience,  of  the  mind,  of  the  heart,  of 
the  will;  cleansing  of  the  eyes,  the  hands,  the  lips. 

( 3 )  For  Renewal 

In  faith  and  love;  brought  back  to  sense  of  divine  favor; 


MATERIALS  OF  WORSHIP 


61 


strengthened  with  might  to  withstand  temptation ;  reassured  of 
Christ’s  presence,  protection,  love. 

(4)  For  Protection 

In  time  of  temptation,  trial  of  faith,  spiritual  weakness;  in  time 
of  sorrow,  sickness,  affliction;  in  time  of  worldly  loss,  discourage¬ 
ment,  disappointment;  in  time  of  doubt,  difficulty,  and  perplexity. 

(5)  For  Grace 

To  forgive;  to  possess  the  soul  in  patience;  to  maintain  peace  of 
conscience,  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  assurance  unto  the  end;  to  wit¬ 
ness  a  good  confession;  to  persevere  unto  the  end. 

(d)  For  Courage 

To  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  Christ;  to  bear  His  Cross  and  do 
His  will ;  to  testify  our  allegiance  to  Him  before  the  world  with 
boldness ;  to  willingly  sacrifice  for  His  sake ;  to  endure  hardness 
as  a  good  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ. 

(7)  For  Deliverance 

From  vain  imaginings;  foolish  repinings ;  needless  care;  vain 
regrets;  embittered  speech;  love  of  coarse  enjoyments;  the  scorn¬ 
ful  spirit ;  compromising  with  sin ;  ingratitude,  and  distrust  of  the 
divine  love. 


Thanksgiving 

(-0  For  Daily  Mercies 

Food;  raiment;  comforts  and  protection  of  home;  health  of  body 
and  mind;  strength  to  labor;  life’s  daily  tasks  and  opportunities; 
love  which  shields  and  supports  us. 

(2)  For  Our  Education 

Friends,  teachers,  and  instructors  of  youth;  example  of  those 
around  us;  education  and  inspiration  which  come  from  past  his¬ 
tory,  literature,  art,  and  daily  activities;  life’s  disciplines  and  ex¬ 
periences  ;  trials  which  train  us  in  patience,  humility,  and  in  forti¬ 
tude;  sacred  ties  which  bind  us  to  the  Unseen. 

(3)  For  Our  Country 

Its  history  and  traditions;  its  civil  and  religious  freedom;  its 
justice  and  good  government;  the  growth  of  charity,  consideration 
for  the  wants  of  the  weak  and  poor,  and  national  responsibility. 


62 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


(4)  For  Spiritual  Mercies 

Day  of  rest — its  opportunities,  associations,  and  obligations. 

House  of  God — its  ministry  and  sacraments ;  sacred  ties  and  holy 
worship. 

Gift  of  Christ — His  Incarnation,  Ministry,  Atonement,  Death, 
Resurrection,  Ascension,  and  Intercession. 

Holy  Spirit — guidance  of  His  Church  and  people;  revelation  of 
truth;  inspiration  for  holy  conduct. 

Holy  Word — its  revelation  of  divine  purposes;  its  inspiration  and 
promises. 

Saints  and  teachers;  prophets  and  evangelists;  all  who  serve  in 
faithfulness. 

Intercession 

( 1 )  For  Native  Land 

The  President  and  his  family;  his  Cabinet  and  Counselors;  both 
Houses  of  Congress ;  Army  and  Navy,  and  all  engaged  in  service 
of  the  Commonwealth;  Judges  and  Magistrates;  all  who  occupy 
places  of  trust  and  responsibility. 

(2)  For  Other  Nations 

All  kings  and  rulers,  together  with  peoples  under  their  sway;  the 
growth  in  the  world  of  freedom,  justice,  and  good  government;  the 
overthrow  of  tyranny  and  oppression;  the  spread  of  the  spirit  of 
love  and  brotherhood ;  the  hastening  of  the  reign  of  the  Prince  of 
Peace. 

(3)  For  City 

City,  town,  parish,  or  district ;  magistrates  and  public  men ;  its 
public  institutions  and  benefactions ;  its  efforts  to  improve  the 
health,  happiness,  and  comfort  of  inhabitants. 

(4)  For  Social  Classes 

(a)  The  poor — those  working  under  hard,  depressing,  monoto¬ 
nous,  dangerous,  or  unremunerative  conditions;  those  suffering 
through  unjust  social  or  economic  laws;  those  who  are  physically 
or  mentally  unfitted  for  engaging  in  life’s  battle;  those  who  are 
depressed,  or  worn  out,  or  dispirited. 

(b)  The  rich — that  they  may  be  good  stewards  of  God’s  bounty; 
defended  from  pride,  selfishness,  vain  display,  love  of  luxury,  hard¬ 
ening  which  comes  from  success;  that  they  may  maintain  a  lowly 
and  obedient  heart. 

(c)  Those  engaged  in  commerce — that  prosperity  may  be  granted 
to  all  engaged  in  business  and  various  industries ;  that  divisions  be- 


MATERIALS  OF  WORSHIP 


63 


tween  class  and  class  may  be  healed;  that  all  engaged  in  business 
may  be  men  of  integrity,  rectitude,  and  known  for  their  fair  dealing. 

(d)  The  unfortunate — those  losing  heart;  those  crushed  down 
by  debt,  by  loss,  by  failure  of  their  hopes ;  those  embittered  by 
adversity;  those  becoming  hard  and  defiant  because  of  prosperity 
of  others;  those  who  have  found  life  a  disappointment,  and  the  mul¬ 
titude  of  the  miserable  around  our  doors. 

(e)  The  afflicted — those  who  are  suffering  in  mind  or  body;  the 
inmates  of  our  workhouses,  hospitals,  or  kindred  institutions ;  those 
who  tend  them,  doctors,  nurses,  and  all  engaged  in  alleviating 
human  distress ;  those  who  mourn ;  those  drawing  near  to  death, 
and  those  in  bondage  to  its  fear.  Those  grievously  tempted;  those 
who  have  gone  astray — the  prodigal,  criminal,  abandoned ;  those  in 
doubt  and  spiritual  perplexity;  those  hindered  through  circum¬ 
stances,  weakness  of  faith,  or  lack  of  courage ;  those  who  have  not 
the  courage  of  their  best  convictions ;  those  who  are  growing 
blinded  to  spiritual  realities. 

(f)  Employees — women,  children,  men  who  work  under  depress¬ 
ing,  dangerous,  and  unremunerative  conditions.  Labor  organiza¬ 
tions,  that  they  may  be  wisely  led  and  saved  from  bitterness  and 
malice. 

(g)  Employers — that  they  may  be  wise  and  patient,  exercising 
their  great  power  over  the  workers  in  the  spirit  of  brotherhood; 
that  they  concern  themselves  with  working  men  as  well  as  dividends 
— that  they  be  saved  from  the  sin  of  using  other  men  as  tools  to 
further  their  own  self-interest. 

(h)  For  business  men — that  they  be  saved  from  the  deceitfulness 
and  materialism  of  trade — that  they  may  realize  that  they  are  en¬ 
gaged  in  useful  social  service — that  all  engaged  in  business  may  be 
full  of  integrity  and  honor. 

(5)  For  the  Church 

Ministers,  teachers,  missionaries,  evangelists,  all  engaged  in  her 
service;  for  spread  of  Gospel  in  heathen  lands;  for  missions  and 
native  Christians;  for  church  with  which  we  are  connected;  for 
congregation,  its  minister,  office-bearers,  members ;  for  all  its  socie¬ 
ties,  its  work,  and  interests.  For  the  coming  of  Christ  in  great 
power. 

(6)  For  Home 

Parents,  and  children ;  those  in  distant  lands ;  those  who  have 
gone  out  into  the  world;  those  at  school;  the  lambs  of  the  flock; 
any  in  sickness,  trouble,  anxiety. 


64 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


e.  The  enrichment  of  prayer  is  a  matter  of  never-ending 
concern  to  the  leader  of  worship,  who  should  constantly 
strive  for  worthier  expression  of  religious  feelings.  He 
will  need,  first,  a  high  standard.  This  will  be  found  in  the 
best  liturgical  prayers  of  the  church,  of  which  he  should 
be  a  lifelong  student.  These  prayers  will  assist  him  in  his 
private  devotions  by  suggesting  themes  for  meditation,  and 
will  be  a  productive  source  of  new  words  and  synonyms. 
By  reading  them  aloud  and  memorizing  the  shortest  and 
noblest  of  them,  one  will  enlarge  his  vocabulary  and  accus¬ 
tom  himself  to  dignified,  varied,  and  forceful  utterance  in 
prayer.  Moreover,  through  these  prayers  one  may  become 
acquainted  with  the  collective  mind  of  the  church  in  all  gen¬ 
erations  and  so  understand  the  common  need,  the  common 
sin,  the  common  aspiration  which  he  must  interpret. 

f.  How  long  should  one  pray?  Long  enough,  but  not 
too  long.  Abruptness  must  be  avoided  on  the  one  hand, 
and  weariness  on  the  other.  “He  prayed  one  into  a  good 
frame  of  mind  and  out  again  by  keeping  on/’  is  a  complaint 
that  might  be  made  against  many  ministers.  The  longest 
prayers  recorded  in  the  Bible  could  not  have  required  more 
than  ten  minutes  to  deliver.  As  a  rule,  the  general  or  pas¬ 
toral  prayer  should  not  consume  more  than  five  or  six 
minutes.  Invocations,  and  prayers  after  the  offering  and  the 
sermon  should  be  condensed  into  from  one  to  three  sentences. 

g.  If  prayer  is  the  office  of  the  congregation,  and  the 
leader  is  only  speaking  for  the  people  in  a  representative 
capacity,  they  have  responsibility  for  the  successful  ministry 
of  prayer.  That  responsibility  requires  that  the  congrega¬ 
tion  shall  assemble  in  a  devotional  mood,  each  person  de¬ 
liberately  quieting  his  heart  in  silent  prayer  on  entering  his 
pew.  (How  seldom  this  is  done  in  Methodist  churches!) 
In  liturgical  services,  where  certain  printed  prayers  are  ar¬ 
ranged  for  the  congregation,  all  should  participate  heartily 
in  reading.  When  the  leader  prays,  there  should  be  a 
thoughtful  following  of  his  speech  and  such  an  appropria¬ 
tion  of  his  sentiments  as  will  make  them  one’s  own. 


MATERIALS  OF  WORSHIP 


65 


h.  Since  the  days  of  the  apostles  Christian  congregations 
have  expressed  their  approval  of  public  prayers  by  audible 
responses,  sometimes  in  the  form  of  a  congregational 
prayer,  but  more  often  by  a  simple  “Amen”  (1  Cor.  14.  16). 
This  custom  probably  was  borrowed  from  Hebrew  worship 
(Deut.  27.  15L).  In  a  liturgical  service  these  responses 
may  be  indicated  formally.  Sometimes  the  choir  chants  the 
prayer,  or  merely  “Amen.”  Otherwise  the  individual  mem¬ 
bers  of  the  congregation  respond  or  not  as  they  are  moved 
by  an  inward  impulse.  When  the  Lord’s  Prayer  is  used  it 
is  necessary  to  give  the  congregation  a  sign  that  the  leader’s 
prayer  is  concluded  by  closing  with  a  customary  formula 
“through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,”  or  “in  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ.” 

Early  Methodists  individually  responded  with  great  free¬ 
dom  to  sentiments  which  pleased  them  in  prayers,  sermons, 
and  exhortations  by  hearty  Amens.  This  custom  is  largely 
falling  into  disuse,  to  the  regret  of  some  and  the  delight  of 
others.  It  does  not  follow,  however,  that  we  have  ceased 
to  respond  inwardly.  The  deepest  and  most  intelligent 
feeling  has  never  been  associated  necessarily  with  the  loud¬ 
est  expression  of  emotion.  If  one  is  constituted  tempera¬ 
mentally  so  that  it  is  natural  for  him  to  respond  in  this  way, 
he  should  feel  at  liberty  to  do  so.  But  neither  he  nor  the 
congregation  should  feel  that  his  piety  is  superior  to  that  of 
the  quieter  brother  who  responds  by  a  flash  of  the  eye  or 
flush  of  the  cheek.  And  let  the  speaker  never  lower  himself 
to  ask  for  Amens  that  are  not  given  without  solicitation ! 

i.  In  free  worship  it  is  best  not  to  insist  upon  a  certain 
posture  as  obligatory,  either  for  the  congregation  or  the 
minister.  Custom,  circumstances,  conditions  of  health,  and 
personal  preferences  are  determinative  in  this  matter.  For 
the  shorter  prayers,  it  is  probably  well  to  stand.  For  the 
longer,  tradition  and  custom  favor  kneeling  among  Method¬ 
ists,  though  increasingly  congregations  sit  while  the  min¬ 
ister  stands.  If  the  leader  chooses  to  kneel  when  he  enters 
the  pulpit  and  during  the  public  prayers,  let  him  do  so  in  a 


66 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


manner  that  is  both  graceful  and  devout.  There  is  no 
spectacle  less  inspiring  than  to  see  a  leader  of  worship 
kneeling  upon  one  knee,  the  other  foot  and  knee  extended 
as  far  as  possible,  and  hanging  by  one  hand  to  a  corner  of 
the  pulpit. 

Examples  of  Public  Prayers 

MORNING  INVOCATION 

Almighty  God,  Who  hast  planted  the  daystar  in  the  heavens, 
and,  scattering  the  night,  dost  restore  morning  to  the  world,  restore 
unto  us,  we  beseech  Thee,  Thy  heavenly  light ;  grant  us  to  pass  this 
day  in  gladness  and  peace,  without  stumbling  and  without  stain ; 
that,  reaching  the  eventide  victorious  over  all  temptations,  we  may 
praise  Thee,  the  eternal  God,  Who  art  ever  blessed,  and  dost  gov¬ 
ern  all  things,  world  without  end.  Amen.6 

EVENING  INVOCATION 

Almighty  God,  Whose  light  shines  undimmed  across  the  rest¬ 
less  sea  of  our  lives,  look  favorably,  we  beseech  Thee,  upon  Thy 
Church,  upon  Thy  people  worshiping  Thee  in  this  place,  and  upon 
all  our  brethren  the  world  over ;  let  Thy  light  rest  upon  us  to 
calm  and  bless;  dispel  the  dark  night  of  our  sins  and  errors;  help 
us  now  with  peaceful  and  pure  hearts  to  worship  Thy  Name,  and 
ever  in  our  lives  dutifully  to  serve,  and  faithfully  to  follow  Thee, 
Through  Jesus  Christ,  our  Lord.  Amen." 

PASTORAL  PRAYER 

Almighty  God,  Whose  ear  is  ever  open  to  the  cry  of  Thy  chil¬ 
dren,  hear  us,  as  at  Thy  mercy  seat  we  plead  for  all  our  brethren 
of  the  people;  for  the  high  and  low,  the  rich  and  poor,  the  learned 
and  the  ignorant;  and  especially  for  the  sick  and  the  afflicted  and 
such  as  are  drawing  nigh  unto  death;  for  all  whose  sorrows  lie 
heavy  upon  our  hearts. 

We  remember  before  Thee  those  who  bear  in  the  secret  of  their 
hearts  the  burden  of  anxious  care  or  secret  sin;  those  who  are  pass¬ 
ing  through  times  of  danger,  temptation,  or  doubt;  those  who  are 
losing  heart  in  the  struggle  of  life;  and  those  who,  neglecting  Thee, 
are  falling  into  sloth,  indifference,  or  despair. 

We  remember  before  Thee  all  in  any  spiritual  doubt  or  perplexity, 

"From  A  Pulpit  Manual,  James  Burns,  p.  19-  Used  by  permis¬ 
sion  of  The  Pilgrim  Press. 

'Ibid. 


MATERIALS  OF  WORSHIP 


67 


and  we  pray  for  those  who  are  withheld  from  following  Thee  by 
pride  of  heart;  by  love  of  pleasure,  ease,  or  display;  by  worldly 
desires  or  ambitions;  by  the  fear  of  man;  or  by  false  views  of 
Thee  and  of  Thy  truth. 

O  God,  Who  dost  give  the  oil  of  joy  for  mourning,  and  the 
garment  of  praise  for  the  spirit  of  heaviness;  relieve,  succor,  and 
enlighten  these  our  brethren  for  whose  necessities  we  intercede, 
and  grant  them  a  happy  and  speedy  issue  out  of  all  their  sorrows 
and  afflictions. 

Most  loving  Father,  who  hast  given  Thy  Ghurch  to  be  a  per¬ 
petual  witness  to  Thy  Truth,  and  hast  set  her  as  a  light  to  lighten 
the  dark  places  of  the  earth,  and  to  draw  all  men  unto  Thyself ; 
bless,  we  beseech  Thee,  this  day,  the  Church  Catholic  spread  abroad 
throughout  the  world.  Sanctify  and  cleanse  her  by  Thy  Word; 
remove  all  needless  divisions,  and  unite  all  those  who  love  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  the  bonds  of  love  and  charity. 

Bless,  we  pray  Thee,  the  Church  with  which  we  are  connected ; 
enlighten  and  direct  her  professors  and  ministers,  her  missionaries 
and  students,  her  office-bearers  and  all  her  faithful  people;  grant¬ 
ing  us  grace  to  do  Thy  will,  and  to  accomplish  in  this  land  the 
task  with  which  Thou  hast  intrusted  us. 

Hear  us  as  we  intercede  on  behalf  of  this  congregation,  that 
Thou  wouldst  bless  our  fellow  members  present  and  absent,  the 
old  and  the  young,  the  rich  and  the  poor.  Prosper  our  work 
amongst  the  children,  bless  each  society  and  organization  in  our 
midst,  and  as  often  as  we  assemble  ourselves  together  in  Thy  courts 
help  us  to  render  unto  Thee  acceptable  and  adoring  worship. 

Eternal  God,  Whose  kingdom  is  from  everlasting  to  everlasting, 
from  Whom  alone  all  power  cometh,  bless,  we  pray  Thee,  our 
native  land,  our  King  and  Queen,  and  all  the  members  of  the  Royal 
House;  give  wisdom  to  His  Majesty’s  counselors;  direct  the 
affairs  of  this  empire;  bless  every  part  of  the  public  service,  and 
may  all  who  in  any  way  serve  the  commonwealth  do  justly,  love 
mercy,  and  walk  humbly  with  Thee,  our  God. 

Now  unto  the  King  eternal,  immortal,  invisible,  the  only  wise 
God,  be  honor  and  glory  for  ever  and  ever.  Amen.7 

FOR  THE  CHURCH8 

O  God,  we  pray  for  Thy  Church,  which  is  set  to-day  amid  the 

7From  A  Pulpit  Manual ,  James  Burns,  p.  48.  Used  by  permis¬ 
sion  of  The  Pilgrim  Press. 

8From  Prayers  of  the  Social  Awakening ,  by  Walter  Rauschen- 
busch,  published  by  The  Pilgrim  Press.  Used  by  permission. 


68 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


perplexities  of  a  changing  order,  and  face  to  face  with  a  great  new 
task.  We  remember  with  love  the  nurture  she  gave  to  our  spir¬ 
itual  life  in  its  infancy,  the  tasks  she  set  for  our  growing  strength, 
the  influence  of  the  devoted  hearts  she  gathers,  the  steadfast  power 
for  good  she  has  exerted.  When  we  compare  her  with  all  other 
human  institutions,  we  rejoice,  for  there  is  none  like  her.  But 
when  we  judge  her  by  the  mind  of  her  Master,  we  bow  in  pity  and 
contrition.  Oh,  baptize  her  afresh  in  the  life-giving  spirit  of  Jesus. 
Grant  her  a  new  birth,  though  it  be  with  the  travail  of  repentance 
and  humiliation.  Bestow  upon  her  a  more  imperious  responsive¬ 
ness  to  duty,  a  swifter  compassion  with  suffering,  and  an  utter 
loyalty  to  the  will  of  God.  Put  upon  her  lips  the  ancient  gospel  of 
her  Lord.  Help  her  to  proclaim  boldly  the  coming  of  the  kingdom 
of  God  and  the  doom  of  all  that  resist  it.  Fill  her  with  the  prophets’ 
scorn  of  tyranny,  and  with  a  Christlike  tenderness  for  the  heavy- 
laden  and  down-trodden.  Give  her  faith  to  espouse  the  cause  of 
the  people,  and  in  their  hands  that  grope  after  freedom  and  light 
to  recognize  the  bleeding  hands  of  the  Christ.  .  .  .  Make  her 

valiant  to  give  up  her  life  to  humanity,  that  like  her  crucified  Lord 
she  may  mount  by  the  path  of  the  cross  to  a  higher  glory. — Walter 
Rauschenbusch. 

Books  Recommended  for  Further  Study 

M.  P.  Tailing,  Extempore  Prayer,  pp.  13-219. 

Arthur  S.  Hoyt,  Public  Worship  in  N on-Liturgical  Churches, 
pp.  49-104. 

MANUALS  OF  WORSHIP 

Walter  Rauschenbusch,  For  God  and  the  People. 

W.  E.  Orchard,  D.D.,  The  Temple. 

D.  R.  Porter,  The  Enrichment  of  Prayer. 

Karl  R.  Stolz,  The  Psychology  of  Prayer. 

M.  P.  Tailing,  Extempore  Prayer,  pp.  220-293. 

James  Burns,  M.A.,  A  Pulpit  Manual. 

George  W.  Coleman,  The  People’s  Prayers. 

Samuel  McComb,  A  Book  of  Prayers. 

W.  A.  Quayle,  The  Climb  to  God. 

W.  P.  Thirkield,  Service  and  Prayers. 

Prayers — Ancient  and  Modern. 

The  Book  of  Common  Prayer. 


CHAPTER  V 


Materials  of  Worship — Lessons,  Announcements, 

Offering 

i.  Reading  the  Law,  and  later  the  Prophets  as  com¬ 
mentaries  upon  the  Law,  was  an  important  part  of  public 
worship  among  the  Jews  from  the  time  of  Moses  and 
Joshua  (Judg.  8.  34;  Deut.  29).  This  custom  was  adopted 
by  the  early  Christian  Church,  which  soon  added  the  Gos¬ 
pels  and  Letters  to  the  Hebrew  Scriptures.  It  has  been  ap¬ 
proved  by  all  important  branches  of  the  modern  church, 
except  the  early  Puritans  of  New  England,  who  counte¬ 
nanced  no  liturgical  use  of  the  Scriptures  down  to  a  com¬ 
paratively  late  period.  Gladden  quotes  from  the  diary  of 
the  Rev.  Stephen  Williams,  a  Congregational  minister  of 
Longmeadow,  Massachusetts,  under  date  of  March  30, 
1755:  “This  day  I  began  to  read  the  Scriptures  publicly  in 
the  congregation.”  His  biographer  notes  that  this  was  a 
bold  innovation  which  was  sustained  in  that  parish  with 
great  difficulty.1  The  approved  method  of  using  the  Scrip¬ 
tures  publicly  was  to  read  a  portion,  expounding  it  section 
by  section,  leaving  nothing  to  private  interpretation.  In¬ 
crease  Mather  declared :  “It  cannot  be  proved  that  Dumb 
Reading,  or  Public  Reading  of  the  Scriptures  without  any 
explication  or  exhortation  is  part  of  the  Pastoral  Office.” 
This  smacked  too  much  of  the  popishness  from  which  New 
England  Puritans  had  fled.2 

At  the  present  time  Scripture  reading  occupies  a  prom¬ 
inent  place  in  the  worship  of  all  Protestant  bodies.  The 
Methodist  order  provides  for  two  lessons — one  from  the 

1Washington  Gladden,  The  Christian  Pastor,  p.  150.  Used  by 
permission  of  Charles  Scribner’s  Sons. 

aT.  Harwood  Pattison,  Public  Worship,  p.  147. 

69 


70 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


Old  Testament,  generally  from  the  Psalms,  read  respon¬ 
sively,  and  the  other  from  the  New  Testament,  read  by  the 
leader  to  the  congregation.  The  first  lesson  affords  an  op¬ 
portunity  for  the  congregation  to  express  its  collective  praise 
directly.  Only  the  poetical  parts  of  the  Scriptures  are 
adapted  to  this  manner  of  reading — the  portions  in  which 
thought  answers  to  thought  and  the  words  are  arranged  in 
balanced  phrases.  The  congregation  is  limited  practically  to 
the  Psalms,  parts  of  Job,  the  Prophets,  and  occasional  lyrical 
passages  in  the  New  Testament  for  such  lessons.  In  The 
Methodist  Hymnal  the  Psalter  is  arranged  with  readings 
for  morning  and  evening  worship  of  each  Sunday  in  the 
year,  and  also  for  certain  special  days  like  Christmas,  Eas¬ 
ter,  and  Thanksgiving.  The  imprecatory  psalms  have  been 
omitted,  and  David  speaks,  for  the  most  part,  ‘dike  a  Chris¬ 
tian. The  leader  is  not  obliged  to  use  this  Psalter.  He 
may  use  any  lesson  from  the  old  Testament.  But  the 
Psalter  will  be  used  regularly  by  the  pastor  who  appreciates 
the  value  of  democracy  in  public  worship.  Any  lesson  may 
be  used  on  any  Sunday,  but  to  avoid  the  monotonous  repe¬ 
tition  of  a  few  favorite  selections  and  to  enlarge  the  acquain¬ 
tance  of  the  congregation  with  the  devotional  literature  of 
the  Scriptures,  the  lessons  should  be  taken  in  order,  begin¬ 
ning  preferably  with  the  first  Sunday  of  the  calendar  year. 
If  the  Psalter  is  used  regularly  in  only  the  morning  services, 
the  evening  lessons  may  be  used  appropriately  for  morning 
worship  on  alternate  years. 

No  direction  is  given  in  the  order  concerning  the  posture 
of  the  congregation  in  using  the  Psalter,  and  practice  varies 
on  this  point.  The  psychological  result  is  better  if  the  con¬ 
gregation  shall  stand.  The  signal  for  rising  should  be  as  in¬ 
conspicuous  as  possible.  Certainly  no  bald  request  need 
be  made  by  the  leader,  nor  awkward  upward  gesture  with 
the  arms.  It  may  be  generally  understood  that  the  rising 
of  the  choir  is  the  sign  for  the  congregation  to  stand.  Or, 
having  allowed  sufficient  time  for  each  person  to  find  the 
selection  after  the  announcement  has  been  made,  let  the 


MATERIALS  OF  WORSHIP 


7i 


announcement  be  repeated,  at  which  time  the  congregation 
will  stand.  For  example,  “The  lesson  in  the  Psalter  for  the 
morning  of  the  twelfth  Sunday.”  Time.  “The  lesson  for 
the  twelfth  Sunday.”  Congregation  stands.  Or,  after  an¬ 
nouncing  the  selection,  let  the  minister  be  seated.  When 
sufficient  time  has  elapsed  for  all  to  find  the  proper  page, 
let  him  stand  to  read,  and  his  rising  will  be  the  signal  for 
the  congregation  to  rise.  An  organ  interlude  might  serve 
the  same  purpose. 

The  manner  in  which  the  Psalter  is  used  varies  greatly. 
Some  communions  favor  chanting  by  the  congregation  in 
unison,  or  by  the  congregation  or  the  choir  and  the  minister 
antiphonally.  Generally,  however,  the  reading  is  responsive 
— the  leader  reciting  the  verses  with  odd  numbers  and  the 
congregation  those  with  even  numbers.  The  reading  on  the 
part  of  the  congregation  should  be  characterized  by  unity 
and  strength  of  volume,  in  which,  nevertheless,  the  spirit 
of  thoughtfulness  and  devotion  appears.  On  the  part  of 
the  minister  there  should  be  intelligent  expression — no  in¬ 
toning  or  mechanical  chanting  of  the  words — which  will 
call  forth  a  proper  response  from  the  congregation,  but 
nothing  in  voice  or  manner  that  will  attract  especial  atten¬ 
tion  to  himself.  He  is  acting  as  a  part  of  the  congregation 
in  this  exercise  and  should  perform  his  duty  in  the  light  of 
that  fact. 

The  second  lesson  is  read  aloud  by  the  leader  alone.  The 
aim  is  didactic — to  impress  some  truth  or  duty  upon  the 
congregation  rather  than  to  express  worshipful  feelings, 
though,  of  course,  both  these  ends  may  be  served.  It  is  the 
custom  of  many  pastors  to  select  a  lesson  connected  with 
the  text  of  the  sermon.  This  is  done  when  the  sermon  is 
regarded  as  the  primary  event  in  the  service,  to  which  every¬ 
thing  else  is  subordinate.  But  we  have  seen  that  the  con¬ 
trolling  ideal  should  be  worship,  not  preaching,  and  under 
this  ideal  the  lesson  is  coordinate  with  the  sermon  and  may 
be  independent  of  it.  It  need  not  teach  the  same  truth  ex¬ 
pressed  in  the  sermon.  Indeed,  in  the  interest  of  variety 


72 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


it  is  better  if  it  shall  express  some  other  truth.  And  in  the 
course  of  a  year’s  ministry  all  the  important  Christian 
truths  should  be  presented  through  this  medium.  The  An¬ 
glican  and  Episcopalian  communions  accomplish  a  compre¬ 
hensive  presentation  of  biblical  teaching  by  arranging  the 
lessons  in  such  a  way  that  the  Old  Testament  may  be  read 
through  once  and  the  New  Testament  twice  each  year  in 
public  worship,  provided  worship  is  conducted  daily.  John 
Wesley  provided  for  the  same  complete  instruction  in  the 
“  Sunday  Service”  which  he  arranged  for  American  Meth¬ 
odists.  This  service  has  never  been  popular,  however,  and 
each  pastor  selects  his  own  lessons.  As  a  result  there  is  no 
such  symmetrical  teaching  of  biblical  doctrine  through  the 
reading  of  the  Bible  as  is  true  of  those  churches  which  use 
a  liturgy.  To  accomplish  this  without  a  liturgy  the  min¬ 
ister  must  give  much  more  careful  attention  to  the  selection 
of  his  lessons  than  many  do. 

To  guard  against  a  narrow  range  of  choice,  let  a  record  be 
kept  of  all  the  lessons  used  during  the  year,  and  plan  deliber¬ 
ately  to  read  from  the  less  familiar  portions  of  the  Bible  as 
well  as  from  the  Psalms  and  the  New  Testament.  Many 
in  the  congregation  hear  little,  if  any,  Scripture  outside  the 
church  service. 

How  shall  the  lesson  be  read?  Certainly  not  in  the  me¬ 
chanical  fashion  that  too  frequently  mars  Protestant  wor¬ 
ship,  whether  liturgical  or  nonliturgical,  nor  dramatically 
after  the  manner  of  elocutionists.  It  is  obvious  that 
the  reading  should  interest  and  instruct  the  congregation. 
Yet  how  rarely  does  it  compel  the  attention  of  the  wor¬ 
shipers  !  It  is  essential,  first  of  all,  that  the  reader  should 
re-create  for  himself  in  imagination  the  very  thoughts  and 
feelings  which  the  author  tried  to  express.  This  cannot  be 
done  except  by  much  study  of  the  lesson  beforehand,  study 
that  will  familiarize  one  with  the  circumstances  under  which 
the  selection  was  written  and  reveal  the  purpose  of  the 
writer,  awakening  one’s  sympathetic  interest  in  that  purpose. 
Suppose,  for  example,  the  minister  should  brood  over  Paul’s 


MATERIALS  OF  WORSHIP 


73 


defense  before  Agrippa  until  he  sees  before  him  the  prisoner 
in  chains,  pleading  in  dignified  and  earnest  fashion  more 
for  his  cause  than  for  himself,  choosing  carefully  each  word 
and  arranging  his  argument  with  a  view  of  making  the  best 
impression  upon  his  judge,  could  he  then  recite  that  address 
in  the  lifeless  or  careless  manner  characteristic  of  many 
who  read  the  Scriptures  in  public  ?  When  the  reader  enters 
sympathetically  into  the  thought  and  feeling  of  the  writer, 
that  fact  will  show  itself  in  the  inflections  and  modulations 
of  the  voice.  The  preacher  who  uses  his  imagination  thus 
will  unconsciously  make  the  reading  of  the  second  lesson 
an  event  in  every  service,  for  he  will  interpret  the  Scripture 
in  a  way  to  be  remembered,  and  that  without  interrupting 
the  reading  by  comments  of  his  own,  “as  the  manner  of 
some  is.” 

At  the  beginning  of  the  lesson,  let  the  leader  announce 
where  it  may  be  found.  At  the  conclusion,  let  him  announce 
simply,  “Here  ends  the  reading  of  the  lesson.”  To  ex¬ 
claim,  as  some  do,  “May  God  add  his  blessing  to  the  reading 
of  his  word,”  is  a  pious  affectation  that  grates  upon  the 
sensibilities  of  those  who  would  avoid  the  appearance  of 
unreality  in  worship.  If  the  lesson  shall  have  been  read 
properly,  be  sure  God  will  have  already  blessed  it.  If  not, 
the  reader  has  made  it  impossible  for  his  prayer  to  be  an¬ 
swered. 

On  entering  the  pulpit,  the  “pulpit  Bible”  should  be 
opened,  even  though  one  intends  to  read  from  his  own  per¬ 
sonal  copy.  This  is  the  most  important  part  of  the  fur¬ 
nishings  of  the  church.  It  contains  the  truth  which  is  to 
be  read  and  interpreted  by  the  minister.  From  it  radiates 
the  light  which  is  to  illuminate  the  minds  and  warm  the 
hearts  of  all  who  worship.  In  recognition  of  that  fact,  let 
it  be  opened  at  least  symbolically,  and  remain  open  until  the 
conclusion  of  the  service. 

2.  Announcements.  Nothing  more  seriously  deflects 
the  movement  of  thought  and  feeling  in  worship  than  a 
large  number  of  announcements,  especially  if  they  are  con- 


74 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


cerned  mainly  with  the  social  affairs  of  the  church.  An 
ideal  time  to  make  them  would  be  before  the  opening  hymn. 
The  late  arrival  of  many  who  should  hear  them,  however, 
makes  it  necessary  to  give  them  at  a  later  time.  The  next 
best  place  is  just  before  the  offering. 

When  it  can  be  afforded,  the  church  should  publish  all 
announcements  in  a  weekly  bulletin.  This  bulletin  should 
never  contain  business  advertisements.  When  they  are 
thus  printed,  there  is  no  need  of  doing  more  than  to  call 
the  attention  of  the  congregation  to  them  in  the  briefest 
manner.  Where  a  bulletin  is  not  used,  the  leader  should 
have  the  announcements  sufficiently  well  in  hand  that  he 
can  state  the  essential  facts  about  each  one  in  the  fewest 
possible  sentences.  It  is  always  his  privilege  to  edit  notices 
in  the  interest  of  economy  of  time  and  the  best  good  of  the 
service.  Circumstances  should  be  very  extraordinary  to 
warrant  taking  more  than  four  or  five  minutes  for  this  part 
of  the  service.  It  is  better  to  use  only  two  or  three. 

3.  Offering.  The  offering  need  not  retard  the  service, 
though  some  hypersensitive  persons  complain  of  it  and  seek 
a  device  which  will  do  away  with  the  necessity  of  mention¬ 
ing  money  in  public  worship.  On  the  contrary,  if  it  be  truly 
an  act  of  worship,  performed  in  a  religious  atmosphere  as 
an  expression  of  genuine  devotion  to  God  and  his  church, 
it  may  enrich  the  service.  Giving  is  the  very  essence  of  all 
worship,  and  as  long  as  it  shall  be  necessary  to  maintain 
Christian  institutions,  it  will  be  a  part  of  true  worship  to 
offer  material  as  well  as  spiritual  gifts  in  the  place  of  prayer. 

It  is  customary  for  the  leader  to  make  the  offering  the 
concluding  announcement.  If  it  is  to  be  devoted  to  some 
special  cause,  that  fact  may  be  stated  briefly.  Then  let  the 
collectors  come  in  a  quiet  and  orderly  manner  to  the  com¬ 
munion  rail  to  receive  the  plates  either  from  the  leader  or 
some  one  of  their  own  number.  The  minister  may  recite 
one  or  two  appropriate  verses  of  Scripture  on  delivering 
the  plates  to  the  collectors.  On  their  return,  let  the  leader 
make  a  brief  prayer  of  thanksgiving  and  consecration,  plac- 


MATERIALS  OF  WORSHIP 


75 


ing  the  offering  in  some  inconspicuous  place  within  the 
chancel.  If  the  plates  are  not  to  be  returned,  then  the 
prayer  should  be  made  as  they  are  distributed,  the  ushers 
waiting  reverently  until  it  is  finished.  The  spirit  of  worship 
will  be  greatly  stabilized  if  the  organist  shall  play  softly  or 
a  good  soloist  shall  sing  during  this  part  of  the  service. 
Conducted  in  some  such  reverent  manner,  the  offering  can 
be  made  a  genuine  “means  of  grace.,, 

The  following  are  excellent  models  for  the  offertory 
prayer  :3 

Accept  these  our  offerings,  O  God,  we  beseech  Thee,  which  now 
we  seek  to  dedicate  to  the  service  of  Thy  Holy  Church,  and  grant 
us  ever  to  have  grateful  hearts,  through  Jesus  Christ,  our  Lord. 

Heavenly  Father,  Who  hast  given  us  all  things  richly  to  enjoy, 
graciously  deign  to  receive  these  our  gifts  which  now  we  lay  upon 
Thine  altar,  and  bless  us  both  in  the  use  and  the  giving  of  Thy 
mercies,  for  Jesus’  sake. 

O  God,  who  dost  teach  us  by  this  act  of  worship  that  it  is  more 
blessed  to  give  than  to  receive,  graciously  accept  these  our  offerings 
and  give  us  the  right  spirit  both  in  giving  and  receiving,  through 
Jesus  Christ,  our  Lord. 

In  many  churches  the  congregation  consecrates  the  offer¬ 
ing  by  rising  and  chanting  Number  740,  The  Methodist 
Hymnal : 

“All  things  come  of  thee,  O  Lord, 

And  of  thine  own  have  we  given  thee.” 

Books  Recommended  for  Further  Study 

Arthur  S.  Hoyt,  Public  Worship  in  N on-Liturgical  Churches. 

F.  H.  J.  Newton,  The  Conduct  of  Public  Worship,  Chapters  I-V. 

S.  S.  Curry,  Vocal  and  Literary  Interpretation  of  the  Bible. 

R.  W.  Rogers,  Book  of  Old  Testament  Lessons  for  Public  Read¬ 
ing  in  Churches. 

3From  A  Pulpit  Manual,  by  James  Burns.  Used  by  permission 
of  The  Pilgrim  Press. 


CHAPTER  VI 


Materials  of  Worship — Sermon  and  Benediction 

THE  SERMON 

i.  The  History  of  Preaching.  The  sermon  enjoyed  no 
such  unique  distinction  in  the  New  Testament  church  as  is 
accorded  it  in  our  time.  In  the  beginning  it  was  merely  a 
footnote  to  the  lesson  or  to  a  letter  from  some  apostle  which 
was  read  in  the  presence  of  the  congregation — a  short  com¬ 
ment  to  clear  up  an  obscure  passage  or  an  exhortation  sug¬ 
gested  by  something  in  the  reading.  It  does  not  appear  to 
have  been  confined  to  an  official  class,  but  was  a  privilege 
open  to  any  who  cared  to  volunteer.  After  the  apostolic 
age,  however,  the  sermon  took  on  new  importance.  It 
became  a  formal  discourse,  or  oration,  pronounced  by  pres¬ 
byters  and  bishops,  and  in  the  fourth  century  preaching  even 
became  popular  as  a  kind  of  indoor  sport.  ‘‘Fashionable 
people  in  Constantinople,  Alexandria,  and  Antioch,  and  hun¬ 
dreds  of  smaller  towns,  began  to  speak  (so  Chrysostom  inti¬ 
mates)  almost  as  enthusiastically  about  the  favorite  preacher 
of  the  hour  as  they  spoke  of  the  favorite  horse  in  the  races 
or  the  reigning  actor  in  the  theater.”1  After  this  century 
the  sermon  declined  in  importance  until  the  period  of  the 
crusades,  which  marks  another  high  point  in  the  history  of 
«  preaching.  Again  there  was  a  decline,  until  the  Reforma¬ 
tion  lifted  the  sermon  once  more  to  a  place  of  overshadow¬ 
ing  importance  in  public  worship.  This  place  it  has  suc¬ 
ceeded  in  holding  until  now  among  those  peoples  most 
profoundly  affected  by  the  Reformation. 

In  a  general  way  the  curve  of  popularity  in  the  history 
of  preaching  follows  the  line  of  keen  theological  interest. 

\John  A.  Broadus,  quoted  by  E.  C.  Dargan,  History  of  Preaching, 
vol.  ii,  p.  64. 


76 


MATERIALS  OF  WORSHIP 


77 


The  sermon  became  popular  in  periods  of  doctrinal  dis¬ 
cussion  because  it  was  practically  the  only  instrument  avail¬ 
able  for  exposition  and  propaganda.  At  times  other  influ¬ 
ences  affected  it,  such  as  imperial  patronage,  social  favor, 
and  the  importance  of  rhetorical  studies  in  education.  But 
these  are  distinctly  secondary  to  the  doctrinal  influence. 

Moreover,  this  curve  follows  the  line  of  prophetic  rather 
than  priestly  influence.  In  periods  of  calm,  when  doctrines 
and  beliefs  are  fixed,  the  priest  makes  permanent  ritualistic 
and  ceremonial  forms  to  contain  them.  Such  instruction 
as  he  gives  in  worship  is  imparted  chiefly  through  the  sym¬ 
bolism  of  the  service  with  which  the  congregation  is  fa¬ 
miliar.  But  when  the  prophet  appears  with  his  demand  for 
a  restatement  of  faith  and  a  revitalizing  of  religious  inter¬ 
est,  the  old  symbols  and  ceremonials  are  inadequate.  They 
do  not  say  what  he  wants  said.  He  has  no  choice  but  to  use 
a  new  symbolism  of  words  and  speech  to  express  his  new 
thought,  and  resorts  to  the  sermon.  Where  the  priestly  re¬ 
straints  are  too  strong  to  be  broken  the  prophet  is  silenced 
and  the  sermon  all  but  disappears  from  worship,  as  in  the 
Greek  Church,  in  which  preaching  has  had  almost  no  his¬ 
tory  since  the  days  of  Chrysostom.  To  a  somewhat  lesser 
extent  this  is  true  of  the  Roman  Church  and  the  “High 
Church”  wing  of  the  Anglican  and  Protestant  Episcopal 
Churches.  Not  that  these  have  produced  no  great  preach¬ 
ers,  but  that  the  importance  of  the  sermon  is  minimized  in 
public  worship.  Where  the  prophet  has  his  way,  as  in  the 
evangelical  communions,  the  sermon  is  exalted  to  a  place  of 
primacy  in  public  worship,  even  to  the  point  of  “sermon- 
olatry.” 

2.  Power  in  Preaching.  As  an  instrument  for  express¬ 
ing  faith  and  imparting  truth,  the  sermon,  ideally,  will  never 
be  superseded.  Evangelicals  are  right  in  feeling  that  a 
service  is  not  quite  finished  in  which  there  is  no  place  for 
instruction  or  inspirational  address.  For  a  truth  or  a  belief 
has  little  power  to  command  others  until  it  takes  possession 
of  a  human  life  in  such  fashion  that  all  instruments — word, 


78 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


gesture,  intonation,  eye,  posture — cooperate  to  express  orig¬ 
inally  and  creatively  what  is  felt  in  the  deep  places  of  the 
spirit  to  be  true.  The  printed  Word  is  potent.  But  only 
the  spoken  word — “truth  through  personality” — ever  be¬ 
comes  omnipotent. 

Believing  all  this — (i)  that  the  sermon  is  indispensable 
to  the  intellectual  life  of  religion;  (2)  that  it  has  achieved 
and  safeguarded  religious  freedom  and  liberty;  (3)  and 
that,  potentially,  it  is  our  finest  agent  for  expressing  and 
propagating  faith — it  must  be  recognized,  nevertheless,  that 
much  which  passes  for  preaching  in  our  modern  life  fails 
to  accomplish  any  of  this,  and  the  sermon  is  in  disrepute 
to-day.  As  an  act  of  worship  the  sermon  must  he  religious. 
One  of  our  great  teachers  of  homiletics  insists  that  much 
American  preaching  is  not  religious: 

“Power  is  absent  from  a  large  part  of  American  preaching 
because  that  preaching  is  not  religious.  It  is  not  essentially 
and  vitally  and  experimentally  religious.  While  we  recog¬ 
nize  much  strong,  noble  preaching,  for  which  we  thank  God 
and  take  courage,  is  there  not  also  a  large  amount  of  preach¬ 
ing  that  could  be  put  into  the  following  categories,  which 
are  not  mutually  exclusive? — (1)  an  unconvincing  evan¬ 
gelicalism — mere  platitudes  about  redemptive  doctrines 
without  clear  relation  to  human  life;  (2)  a  solemn  pietism 
— conventional  appeals  for  consecration  and  separation  from 
the  world;  (3)  a  weak  sentimentalism — pathetic  stories, 
farfetched  religious  experiences,  general  unreality  to  the 
healthy-minded;  (4)  a  dry  intellectualism — mere  discussion 
of  subjects,  the  sort  of  thing  that  can  be  done  better  in  a 
magazine;  (5)  a  belated  controversialism — fighting  over  old 
battles,  tilting  at  windmills;  (6)  a  shallow  sensationalism — 
catching  the  crowd  by  the  methods  of  the  vaudeville  and  the 
yellow  press,  anything  for  notoriety;  (7)  a  bumptious  ego¬ 
tism — the  minister  carried  away  by  the  self-importance  of 
his  leadership,  thrusting  his  views,  his  hobbies,  his  methods, 
himself,  and  even  his  family,  upon  public  attention ;  (8)  a 
shallow  socialism — the  use  of  the  pulpit  for  the  presentation 


MATERIALS  OF  WORSHIP 


79 


of  particular  economic  theories  and  partisan  views  with  no 
great  human  appeal.  Some  of  these  preachings  gain  large 
audiences,  even  fill  up  the  membership  of  churches,  even 
secure  conversions  and  reformations  of  life,  but  their  in¬ 
fluence  taken  as  a  whole  is  petty,  cheapening  to  religion,  and 
is  not  bringing  God  to  men  and  lifting  men  to  God.  If  all 
preaching  were  of  such  character,  the  days  of  the  pulpit 
would  be  numbered.”2 

Power  in  preaching  has  been  defined  as  “such  a  presenta¬ 
tion  of  an  intense  religious  conviction  as  shall  tend  to  pro¬ 
duce  in  the  congregation  an  emotional  experience  of  that 
conviction.”  The  final  test  of  a  sermon  as  an  act  of  worship 
is  just  this  power  to  evoke  a  sympathetic  response  from 
those  who  hear  it.  Can  the  preacher  make  the  congregation 
feel  and  think  about  the  theme  as  he  himself  does? 

The  problem  here  is  much  the  same  as  in  public  prayer. 
This  kind  of  power  is  conditioned  chiefly  by  two  things — 
(i)  the  degree  to  which  the  preacher  has  identified  himself, 
in  imagination  at  least,  with  the  joys  and  sorrows,  the  vic¬ 
tories  and  defeats  of  his  hearers,  and  (2)  the  sincerity  with 
which  he  speaks  the  convictions  of  his  own  soul.  A  Sunday- 
school  lad  remarked  after  hearing  a  simple,  straightforward 
account  of  the  attempt  of  a  Kentucky  mountain  college  to 
teach  mountain  boys  that  the  heroism  of  Jesus  is  nobler 
than  revenge,  “It  does  make  a  difference  when  you  hear  a 
man  who  really  believes  what  he  says.”  Professor  Soares 
asks,  “Can  it  be  that  congregations  are  sometimes  dismissed 
asking  themselves,  Does  he  mean  it,  or  was  he  only  preach¬ 
ing  ?”3 

3.  The  Technique  of  Preaching.  Yet  it  is  not  wholly 
a  matter  of  deep  feeling  and  spirit.  Many  ministers  who 
do  not  lack  convictions,  and  who  are  intelligent  and  sincere, 
nevertheless  are  unable  to  preach  effectively.  They  have 
not  mastered  the  technique  of  preaching.  This  has  to  do 

“Reprinted  by  permission  of  The  University  of  Chicago  Press. 
University  of  Chicago  Sermons,  edited  by  T.  G.  Soares,  p.  3f. 

sId.,  p.  6. 


8o 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


with  the  materials,  the  form,  and  the  manner  of  the  sermon. 
Admittedly  they  are  secondary  to  conviction  and  sincerity. 
Probably  more  preachers  fail,  however,  in  the  former  than 
the  latter.  A  whole  volume  would  be  required  to  treat 
these  matters  adequately.  We  venture  to  emphasize  here 
very  briefly  only  those  things  which  are  related  to  the  litur¬ 
gical  values  of  the  sermon. 

a.  The  Material  of  the  Sermon.  As  an  act  of  Christian 
worship,  the  sermon  must  express  and  interpret  the  Chris¬ 
tian  experience  of  the  race.  The  principal  record  of  this 
experience  is  found  in  the  Bible.  To  explain  this  book 
helpfully  is  the  minister’s  chief  business.  He  is  expected 
to  understand  it  as  perfectly  as  the  lawyer  should  under¬ 
stand  the  law  and  the  physician  his  medical  science.  Yet 
how  rarely  do  ministers  create  the  impression  that  their 
judgment  on  a  biblical  matter  will  be  confirmed  in  the  court 
of  scholarly  criticism  !  Many  reveal  the  fact  that  they  know 
the  English  and  American  poets,  that  no  popular  books  of 
fiction  ever  escape  them,  and  that  the  Saturday  Evening 
Post  and,  possibly,  the  Atlantic  Monthly  come  regularly  to 
their  reading  tables,  but  neither  Hosea,  nor  Jeremiah,  nor 
Amos,  nor  Isaiah,  nor  any  other  prophet  becomes  a  living 

—  personality  from  anything  they  say.  No  one  has  ever 
preached  commandingly  who  did  not  regard  the  Bible — 
its  prayers,  its  biographies,  its  parables,  its  miracles,  its 
poetry,  its  philosophy,  its  history,  its  letters — as  his  primary 
source  of  sermon  material.  In  the  profound  religious  ex¬ 
perience  in  which  Ezekiel  received  his  call  to  the  prophetic 
office  he  was  commanded  to  eat  a  book  (roll)  in  which  was 
written  the  message  he  was  to  deliver — eat  until  he  had 
filled  himself  with  it!  Could  there  be  a  more  impressive 
dramatization  of  this  idea  that  a  preacher’s  Bible  is  to  be 
thoroughly  masticated,  digested,  and  assimilated? 

-  After  the  Bible,  the  next  great  record  of  Christian  ex¬ 
perience  is  found  in  the  doctrinal  statements  of  the  church. 
Unlike  the  biblical  text,  these  are  constantly  changing  in 
their  outward  form.  To  interpret  them  helpfully  the  min- 


MATERIALS  OF  WORSHIP 


81 


ister  must  know  them  in  their  history,  and  in  their  relations 
to  the  changing  ideals  of  thought  and  life  which  modify 
them  from  age  to  age.  To  make  sure  that  he  covers  the 
whole  field  of  Christian  teaching  in  the  course  of  a  year’s 
preaching,  one  should  plan  for  himself  some  such  calendar 
of  themes  as  certain  communions  arbitrarily  impose  upon 
their  clergymen — for  example,  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church.  Otherwise  he  will  overemphasize  some  truths  and 
underemphasize,  or  neglect  entirely,  others  equally  im¬ 
portant. 

But  it  is  a  part  of  our  Christian  faith  that  God  is  still 
active  in  his  world  and  in  the  hearts  of  men.  We  may  know 
him  at  first  hand  for  ourselves,  and  personally  verify  the 
findings  of  others,  and  add  to  them.  Only  as  the  minister 
thus  lives  again  in  his  own  experience  the  truths  which 
others  have  affirmed  can  his  preaching  be  self-revelation; 
and  unless  it  is  that,  the  sermon  cannot  be  called  worship. 
He  will  be  interested,  too,  in  the  attempt  of  his  contem¬ 
poraries  to  know  God,  and  in  their  fresh  descriptions  of  re¬ 
ligious  experience.  What  latter-day  poets,  philosophers, 
essayists,  and  teachers  of  social  ethics  have  to  say  about  life 
and  duty  is  legitimate  sermonic  material.  One  will  gather 
the  materials  of  preaching  to  little  purpose,  however,  unless 
he  is  able  to  interpret  them  imaginatively.  Masters  of  the 
art  of  ritualistic  worship  know  well  how  to  stir  the  imagina¬ 
tion  by  the  use  of  symbols  which  appeal  to  the  eye  or  the 
ear.  As  an  act  of  worship  the  sermon  must  likewise  stimu¬ 
late  the  imagination  of  the  hearers,  else  it  will  have  little 
power  to  affect  their  feelings  and  induce  a  worshipful  mood. 
Who  does  not  hold  in  memory  a  Scripture  or  a  doctrine 
which  once  had  no  meaning  but  was  made  forever  beauti¬ 
ful  by  a  preacher  who  interpreted  it  with  the  simplicity  and 
understanding  that  comes  only  from  imagination? 

In  emphasizing  imagination  as  a  primary  source  of  power 
in  preaching,  we  should  distinguish  imagination  from  fancy. 
The  latter  breaks  with  reality  and  is  a  source  of  danger. 
By  it,  the  puerilities  of  the  allegorical  interpreter  are  per- 


82 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


petrated,  who  always  is  able  to  make  the  Scriptures  say 
what  he  wishes  them  to  say.  On  the  contrary,  the  construc¬ 
tive  imagination,  while  it  transcends  facts,  never  loses  its 
contact  with  them.  The  imaginative  interpreter  proceeds 
by  the  historical  method.  He  is  anxious  to  discover,  not  his 
own  mind,  but  that  of  the  writer. 

As  illustrating  the  difference  between  the  two  methods, 
contrast  the  fanciful  with  the  imaginative  way  of  interpret¬ 
ing  the  parable  of  the  good  Samaritan.  The  former  as¬ 
sumes  that  every  feature  of  the  parable  is  a  symbol  filled 
with  religious  meaning.  For  example,  the  man  who  fell 
among  thieves  stands  for  Adam ;  the  thieves  were  the  devil 
and  his  angels ;  the  priest  and  the  Levite  were  the  Mosaic 
dispensation;  the  good  Samaritan  was  Christ;  the  beast 
on  which  the  Samaritan  rode  was  Christ’s  human  nature; 
the  inn  was  the  church ;  the  two  pennies  paid  to  the  inn¬ 
keeper  represented  the  life  that  now  is  and  that  which  is 
to  come.  A  truly  imaginative  interpreter  proceeds,  how¬ 
ever,  by  inquiring  what  were  the  circumstances  under 
which  the  parable  was  spoken.  He  finds  that  a  young  man 
had  asked  for  a  definition  of  the  word  ‘‘neighbor.”  “Who 
is  my  neighbor?”  he  inquired,  and  Jesus  replied  with  this 
story  of  a  neighbor  in  action  in  which  it  appears  that  neigh¬ 
borliness  is  not  a  matter  of  geography,  nor  race,  nor  patri¬ 
otism,  nor  religion,  but  of  mere  human  interest  on  the  basis 
of  human  need.  This  is  what  Jesus  put  into  the  parable 
and  this  is  what  the  imaginative  preacher  takes  out.  The 
allegorist  misses  it  entirely. 

b.  The  Form  of  the  Sermon.  Imagination  is  important, 
too,  in  expressing  one’s  insights,  as  well  as  in  discovering 
them.  It  frequently  happens  that  of  two  sermons  equally 
above  criticism  as  to  materials,  one  will  have  power  to  com¬ 
mand  the  interest  of  the  congregation  that  the  other  lacks. 
Quite  generally  the  explanation  will  be  found  in  the  literary 
form  of  the  respective  sermons.  One  preacher  is  a  master 
in  the  art  of  organizing  his  material ;  the  other  is  not.  The 
first  expresses  his  thought  clearly  from  the  opening  sen- 


MATERIALS  OF  WORSHIP 


83 


tence,  and  before  six  sentences  have  been  spoken  the  con¬ 
gregation  knows  exactly  what  theme  is  to  be  discussed.  In 
thirty  minutes  he  has  said  (1)  this,  and  (2)  that,  and  (3) 
a  third  specific  thing  about  the  theme.  Everything  is  easily 
grasped.  It  requires  no  effort  to  listen.  Indeed,  one  can¬ 
not  help  listening.  There  are  no  digressions  of  thought. 
Nothing  is  put  into  the  sermon  which  does  not  contribute 
directly  to  the  main  stream  of  interest.  No  stories  are  told 
for  their  own  sake.  No  poetry  is  quoted  to  display  the 
preacher’s  acquaintance  with  the  poets.  If  poetry  is  used, 
it  is  because  some  singer  has  said  what  the  preacher  needed 
to  say  at  a  certain  point  better  than  he  can  possibly  do.  All 
is  compactly  arranged  and  expressed  simply  and  clearly. 
The  sermon  is  a  single  organism,  a  perfect  unity,  and  easily 
remembered. 

The  other  sermon  is  a  multiplicity,  a  heterogeneous  col¬ 
lection  of  statements,  sentiments,  poetry,  and  historical 
references  gathered  from  everywhere  with  no  inner  coher¬ 
ence  holding  them  together.  If  there  is  a  main  line  of 
thought,  it  is  difficult  to  find  it ;  or  finding  it,  to  hold  it,  for 
irrelevant  matter  is  constantly  introduced  which  diverts  at¬ 
tention  from  the  principal  subject.  Only  by  a  conscious 
effort  of  will  is  the  attention  fastened  upon  the  sermon  at 
all.  To  carry  away  more  than  a  fragment  of  such  a  sermon 
would  require  superhuman  power.  Yet  these  very  same 
materials,  organized  more  perfectly,  would  make  a  worth¬ 
while  utterance.  And  the  only  difference  would  be  in  the 
literary  form.  Some  one  has  remarked  that  while  an 
arrow  and  an  ordinary  stick  of  wood  may  be  made  of  ex¬ 
actly  the  same  material,  one  may  be  hurled  from  a  bow 
very  much  farther  than  the  other.  This  difference  in  carry¬ 
ing  power  is  due  entirely  to  the  difference  in  their  respective 
shapes.  One  was  formed  to  go  far,  cleaving  the  air  with  a 
minimum  of  resistance,  and  the  other  was  not.  And  that 
explains  the  difference  in  the  carrying  power  of  sermons. 

Everything  which  has  to  do  with  literary  style  should  re¬ 
ceive  the  most  conscientious  consideration  of  the  preacher 


84 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


throughout  his  ministerial  life.  Synonyms  should  be 
studied  with  a  view  of  enlarging  the  vocabulary  and  using 
words  more  accurately.  A  sermon  should  be  written  com¬ 
pletely  each  week,  not  with  a  view  of  reading  from  the 
manuscript,  but  for  the  drill  of  composing  sentences  which 
will  express  clearly  and  forcibly  the  exact  thought  that  is 
in  mind.  The  dictionary  should  always  be  at  hand  as  one 
reads,  and  no  unfamiliar  word  should  ever  be  permitted  to 
escape  until  its  meaning  is  known.  In  planning  the  sermon 
as  a  whole  one  must  keep  in  mind  the  great  principles  of 
literary  composition  which  control  all  forms  of  effective 
discourse,  whether  spoken  or  written ;  namely,  ( i )  unity, 
(2)  coherence,  and  (3)  orderly  development  toward  a 
climax  of  thought  and  feeling. 

One  would  do  well  to  read  each  year  a  good  treatise  on 
English  composition  to  keep  his  ideas  of  style  constantly 
fresh.  Such  a  volume  would  be  much  more  helpful  than 
most  of  the  textbooks  on  homiletics. 

c.  The  Manner  of  the  Sermon.  Though  subordinate  to 
material  and  form,  the  manner  of  the  sermon  is  neverthe¬ 
less  highly  important.  Everyone  can  recall  a  public  ad¬ 
dress  which  was  ruined  by  awkwardness  and  self-conscious¬ 
ness  on  the  part  of  the  speaker;  by  action  that  was  un¬ 
restrained  or  too  much  restrained ;  by  a  voice  too  big  or  too 
small ;  by  pitch  too  high  or  too  low,  or  that  did  not  vary. 
These  technical  matters  cannot  be  treated  here  at  length. 
We  may  emphasize  only  their  importance.  This  is  illus¬ 
trated  in  George  Whitefield,  who  is  said  to  have  been  able 
to  make  a  congregation  weep  by  the  way  in  which  he  pro¬ 
nounced  the  single  word,  “Mesopotamia.”  If  that  story  be 
legendary,  it  is  beyond  all  doubt  true  that  a  popular  living 
American  preacher  produces  the  most  astounding  effects  on 
the  nervous  systems  of  his  hearers  by  the  modulations  and 
flexibility  of  his  voice.  Another  distinguished  clergyman 
puts  himself  under  the  tutelage  of  a  teacher  of  public  speak¬ 
ing  for  a  short  period  every  year  to  correct  bad  habits  of 
speech  and  action  which  he  may  have  fallen  into  uncon- 


MATERIALS  OF  WORSHIP 


85 


sciously.  Every  minister  could  wisely  take  himself  in  hand 
at  this  point.  Ideally  he  should  take  a  course  of  training 
under  a  competent  instructor.  If  that  is  impossible,  he  may 
do  much  for  himself  by  following  the  suggestions  of  such 
a  text  as  C.  Edmund  Neil's  Sources  of  Effectiveness  in 
Public  Speaking. 

d.  The  Length  of  the  Sermon.  Since  the  sermon  is  only 
one  of  many  elements  in  public  worship,  all  of  which  must 
cooperate  to  produce  a  designed  effect,  the  question  of  its 
proportionate  length  is  important.  Certainly  it  should  never 
take  more  than  half  the  time  available  for  the  whole  service. 
Generally  it  should  take  less.  More  time  must  be  spent  in 
careful  preparation  if  one  is  to  preach  only  twenty  minutes 
than  if  forty  are  at  his  disposal.  But  the  appreciation  of 
the  congregation  will  be  correspondingly  greater. 

4.  The  Benediction.  The  manner  in  which  the  service 
of  worship  is  concluded  will  determine  largely  whether  or 
not  the  impression  made  during  worship  is  to  be  permanent 
to  any  degree.  It  is  possible  to  dismiss  the  people  in  such  a 
fashion  that  the  results  of  the  service  shall  be  dissipated  be¬ 
fore  they  leave  the  church.  The  Methodist  Order  of  Wor¬ 
ship  provides  that  the  sermon  shall  be  followed  by  prayer, 
the  people  kneeling,  and  this  by  a  congregational  hymn,  the 
people  standing.  In  a  footnote  it  is  suggested  that  this  order 
of  prayer  and  song  may  be  reversed.  If  an  invitation  is  to 
be  given  at  the  close  of  the  service  to  unite  with  the  church 
or  confess  discipleship,  it  is  better  to  have  the  prayer  pre¬ 
cede  the  hymn,  giving  the  invitation  when  the  hymn  is  an¬ 
nounced.  In  that  event  the  Doxology  may  be  sung  and  the 
benediction  given,  the  people  standing  after  the  candidates 
have  been  received.  If  the  invitation  is  omitted,  or  given 
during  the  hymn  before  the  sermon,  then  the  sermon  may 
well  be  followed  immediately  by  a  hymn,  the  people  stand¬ 
ing,  and  this  by  a  prayer,  the  people  kneeling  or  sitting  in  a 
prayerful  attitude.  The  value  of  this  prayer  will  be  in¬ 
creased  if  the  congregation  shall  pray  silently  for  a  moment 
before  the  leader  shall  voice  their  collective  prayer.  If  this 


86 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


order  be  observed,  the  benediction  should  be  given  while 
minister  and  people  are  in  the  position  of  prayer. 

It  should  be  remembered  always  that  the  benediction  is 
a  part  of  worship,  and  not  merely  a  signal  that  worship  is 
finished.  The  apostolic  benediction5  prescribed  in  our  order 
is  a  wonderful  prayer  that  minister  and  people  together 
may  continually  experience  the  redeeming  power  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  be  constantly  aware  of  God’s  love  for  men, 
and  walk  in  never-ending  fellowship  with  the  Holy  Spirit. 
To  recite  this  prayer  mechanically  is  to  make  only  a  mo¬ 
tion  for  the  congregation  to  depart.  Rendered  in  this  way, 
it  has  no  religious  value  whatever.  But  pronounced  thought¬ 
fully  and  reverently,  it  becomes  the  great  prayer  of  the  serv¬ 
ice,  gathering  up  all  lesser  petitions  into  one  final  request 
for  the  highest  blessing,  fixing  in  the  last  moment  the 
thought  of  the  people  upon  the  Great  God  in  whom  they 
live  and  move  and  have  their  being,  and  to  know  whom  is 
eternal  life. 

5.  The  Ushers.  A  most  important  post  in  the  service 
of  worship  is  that  filled  by  the  ushers,  who  are  in  charge  of 
all  matters  which  pertain  to  the  physical  comfort  of  the 
congregation.  They  should  greet  the  people  cordially, 
though  quietly,  as  they  enter  the  church,  not  with  the  pro¬ 
fessional  air  of  a  butler  or  theater  attendant,  but  in  the 
spirit  of  a  man  welcoming  a  guest  to  his  own  home.  If  a 
stranger  enters,  and  time  permits,  the  usher  will  ask  a  few 
courteous  questions.  If  there  is  a  choice  of  seats,  he  will 
ask  the  worshiper  what  his  preference  may  be.  At  the  com¬ 
munion  service,  the  ushers  may  helpfully  direct  the  move¬ 
ment  of  communicants  to  and  from  the  chancel  so  that  there 
may  be  no  crowding  or  confusion.  They  will  see  to  it  that 
no  belated  worshipers  take  their  seats  during  any  act  of 
worship,  whether  prayer,  or  anthem,  or  lesson,  but  only 
between  these.  They  are  the  “aides”  of  the  pastor  for 
special  errands.  If  the  ventilation  needs  attention,  the 
pastor  should  signal  an  usher  to  attend  to  it — not  leave 


*2  Cor.  13.  14. 


MATERIALS  OF  WORSHIP 


87 


the  pulpit  himself.  If  a  visiting  minister  is  seen  unex¬ 
pectedly  in  the  congregation  and  the  pastor  desires  his 
presence  in  the  pulpit,  whenever  possible  let  him  send  his 
message  by  an  usher.  Once  he  enters  the  pulpit,  the  pastor 
should  stay  there  until  the  service  is  over.  The  ushers 
should  be  elected  by  the  official  board,  and  where  there  are 
several,  one  should  be  “chief  usher,”  directing  the  work  of 
all  the  rest.  That  none  may  be  overburdened,  one  set  of 
ushers  may  serve  at  the  morning  service  and  another  at 
the  evening.  In  some  churches  the  ushers  are  regularly  or¬ 
ganized  and  have  delightful  social  occasions  together. 

Books  Recommended  for  Further  Study 

A.  E.  Garvie,  The  Christian  Preacher. 

Charles  S.  Gardner,  Psychology  and  Preaching. 

D.  J.  Burrell,  The  Sermon. 

L.  O.  Brastow,  The  Modern  Pulpit. 

H.  W.  Beecher,  Yale  Lectures  on  Preaching. 

Phillips  Brooks,  Yale  Lectures  on  Preaching. 

W.  F.  McDowell,  Yale  Lectures  on  Preaching. 

S.  Parkes  Cadman,  Ambassadors  of  God. 

F.  J.  McConnell,  The  Preacher  and  the  People. 

C.  Edmund  Neil,  Sources  of  Effectiveness  in  Public  Speaking. 

P.  T.  Forsyth,  Positive  Preaching  and  the  Modern  Mind ,  Lec¬ 
ture  III. 

Charles  R.  Brown,  The  Art  of  Preaching. 


CHAPTER  VII 


THE  SUNDAY  EVENING  SERVICE 

Twenty-five  years  ago  Washington  Gladden  wrote:  “In 
America,  at  least,  the  problem  of  the  evening  service  is  one 
of  considerable  difficulty.  ...  In  most  of  our  churches  the 
service  is  thinly  attended,  and  the  question  of  its  main¬ 
tenance  weighs  heavily  on  the  minds  of  the  pastors.  Where 
it  has  not  been  abandoned,  various  devices  have  been  re¬ 
sorted  to  for  increasing  the  congregation — praise  services, 
musical  services,  spectacular  services  with  lanterns,  and 
such  like/’1 

The  problem  has  become  much  more  difficult  in  the  time 
that  has  elapsed  since  this  distinguished  pastor  complained 
thus.  Then  the  automobile  was  still  a  curiosity  which  thou¬ 
sands  had  never  yet  seen,  not  the  familiar  possession  of 
every  third  family  even  in  rural  communities.  Nor  had  the 
moving-picture  industry  yet  made  the  theater  the  chief  so¬ 
cial  and  recreational  center  in  every  hamlet.  When 
Gladden  wrote,  only  pastors  in  cities  were  worried  about 
the  Sunday-night  service.  Now  every  country  pastor,  as 
well,  anxiously  considers  what  can  be  done  to  offset  the 
enticements  of  the  “auto”  and  “movie.”  And  the  same  two 
conclusions  are  still  reached.  An  increasing  number  de¬ 
cide  to  abandon  the  service,  while  another  growing  multi¬ 
tude  feverishly  attempt  to  enhance  its  attractiveness  by 
spectacular  features,  some  legitimate  and  some  highly  ques¬ 
tionable.  He  is  rash  indeed  who  presumes  to  dogmatize 
about  that  which  is  confusing  to  many.  Nevertheless,  there 
is  always  need  to  keep  before  us  certain  ideals  whose  va¬ 
lidity  is  undisputed  with  reference  to  this  service. 

i.  The  success  of  a  service  of  worship  is  not  to  be  meas- 


1 Op .  cit.,  p.  121.  Used  by  permission  of  Charles  Scribner’s  Sons. 

88 


THE  SUNDAY  EVENING  SERVICE 


89 


ured  chiefly  by  the  number  of  persons  present .  Great  mul¬ 
titudes  are  seldom  very  important  in  religion.  Let  us  be  re¬ 
minded  often  that  Jesus  was  content  to  do  his  work  with  a 
small  group  and  that  he  deliberately  sought  to  keep  his  con¬ 
gregations  from  becoming  “great.”  Like  Gideon,  he  seemed 
to  regard  a  crowd  as  an  embarrassment.  Their  unwieldi¬ 
ness,  their  instability,  their  fickleness,  their  irresponsibility, 
their  quick  response  to  an  appeal  to  prejudice,  their  inabil¬ 
ity  to  think  deeply  or  with  discrimination  make  it  impossible 
for  mere  numbers  ever  to  give  worth  or  distinction  to  a 
congregation.  Catholics  and  Protestant  Episcopalians,  for 
whom  the  size  of  the  congregation  makes  little  difference 
in  the  success  of  the  mass  or  the  communion  service,  have 
much  to  teach  non-liturgical  churches  in  this  matter.  Of 
course,  one  must  guard  against  complacency  and  content¬ 
ment  with  inferior  achievement.  The  normal  pastor  will 
covet  as  large  a  congregation  as  possible.  His  motive,  how¬ 
ever,  will  not  be  to  get  a  crowd  for  its  own  sake,  but  to  ren¬ 
der  spiritual  service  to  all  for  whom  he  has  responsibility. 
When  this  motive  is  in  the  ascendant  one  will  not  be  unduly 
elated,  or  depressed,  by  the  size  of  the  congregation,  if  only 
the  service  itself  shall  possess  inspirational  value  for  those 
who  are  present.  Let  us  not  ask,  “How  many  came?” 
but,  “What  was  done  for  those  who  came  ?” 

2.  The  function  of  the  church  is  very  different  from  that 
of  the  theater.  Comparisons  between  the  size  of  theater 
audiences  and  church  congregations  are  not  very  impres¬ 
sive.  For  it  is  impossible  to  contrast  things  that  have  no 
common  resemblance.  The  chief  justification  for  the 
theater  is  that  it  provides  for  relaxation  through  amusement. 
But  amusement  is  distinctly  not  the  primary  business  of 
the  church.  Services  should  be  beautiful  and  interesting 
indeed,  but  they  are  not  conducted  to  entertain  the  congre¬ 
gation.  One  goes  to  the  theater  to  “let  down.”  He  goes 
to  the  church  for  instruction  and  worship,  and  this  requires 
creative  effort  of  the  highest  sort — the  very  opposite  from 
letting  down.  The  “movie”  makes  no  demand  upon  one’s 


90  THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 

intellectual  or  volitional  powers.  The  church  taxes  these 
faculties  to  the  utmost.  In  the  nature  of  the  case  the  church 
can  never  be  popular  with  that  large  element  in  the  com¬ 
munity  which  has  little  power  to  refresh  itself  from  within 
and  is  drawn  as  by  a  magnet  to  that  in  its  environment 
which  promises  the  most  excitement  and  the  greatest  num¬ 
ber  of  thrills.  Whenever  the  church  resorts  to  the  methods 
of  the  theater  to  “get  a  crowd,1 ”  a  distinct  loss  of  respect 
usually  follows;  first,  because  the  community  feels  that 
the  church  either  does  not  understand  its  own  peculiar 
mission  or  has  lost  confidence  in  it ;  and,  second,  because  the 
theatrical  manager  is  very  much  more  expert  in  the  show 
business  than  is  the  average  pastor.  It  would  seem  to  be 
better  policy  every  way  for  the  church  to  spend  its  strength 
on  its  legitimate  task  than  to  attempt  to  brighten  its  services 
by  features  that  are  purely  diverting  or  amusing.  Gladden’s 
findings  twenty-five  years  ago  have  been  confirmed,  on  the 
whole,  by  the  experiments  of  thousands  of  perplexed  pas¬ 
tors  and  official  boards  since :  “It  is  not  to  the  aesthetic 
nature  that  the  services  of  the  church  make  their  appeal; 
and  the  moment  it  becomes  evident  that  pleasure,  no  matter 
of  how  refined  a  sort,  has  been  exalted  in  those  services 
above  serious  thought,  the  power  and  the  glory  of  the 
church  are  gone.”2  It  may  be  that  on  week  days  some 
church  will  conclude  that  a  part  of  its  task  is  to  provide 
amusement,  but  “the  use  of  its  Sunday  night  services  for 
this  purpose  is  nothing  less  than  the  prostitution  of  a  high 
office.” 

3.  The  feeling  prevails  that  it  is  generally  unwise  to  con¬ 
duct  two  services  of  exactly  the  same  type  on  the  same  day. 
This  suggests  that  the  Sunday-evening  service  should  vary 
in  its  aim  and  method  from  the  morning  service.  The  lat¬ 
ter  should  be  more  dignified  and  worshipful.  The  former 
may  well  be  less  stately,  brighter  in  color,  more  rapid  in 
action,  and,  while  maintaining  an  atmosphere  of  worship, 


*0p  cit.f  p.  122. 


THE  SUNDAY  EVENING  SERVICE 


9i 


featuring  certain  matters  as  a  rule  unprovided  for  in  the 
morning  service. 

In  every  church  there  are  persons  thinking  seriously  upon 
the  subject  of  personal  religion,  but  who  have  never  made 
public  confession  of  their  discipleship.  These  should  have 
frequent  opportunity  to  declare  themselves  before  the  con¬ 
gregation,  and  a  service  should  be  provided  with  an  at¬ 
mosphere  warm  with  expectation  in  which  they  are  frankly 
encouraged  to  make  their  decisions  at  once.  To  serve  such 
the  Sunday-evening  service  should  often  be  made  evangel¬ 
istic.  It  may  be  the  part  of  wisdom  to  do  this  without 
elaborate  announcement  beforehand,  but  let  it  be  done  as 
frequently  as  the  leader  feels  there  is  any  strong  probability 
that  anyone  present  would  be  glad  for  such  an  opportunity. 

There  is  an  important  educational  service  expected  of  the 
ministry  at  this  time  when  the  area  of  ethical  obligation  is 
widening  to  include  the  field  of  social  as  well  as  private 
relationships;  and  the  Sunday-evening  service,  better  than 
any  other,  can  be  devoted  frequently  to  this  purpose.  No 
subjects  are  more  fascinating  to  the  present  generation. 
And  all  come  well  within  the  scope  of  the  minister’s  busi¬ 
ness,  for  all  sustain  a  vital  relation  to  the  spiritual  life. 
Needless  to  say,  “preaching  of  this  kind  makes  unusual  de¬ 
mands  upon  the  intelligence  of  a  minister.”  He  has  no 
right  to  speak  until  he  has  prepared  himself  thoroughly. 
But  the  preacher  who  intelligently  applies  the  great  Chris¬ 
tian  ideals  to  the  problems  of  industry,  poverty,  vice,  de¬ 
linquency,  education,  government,  etc.,  keeping  clearly  in 
view  all  the  while  their  religious  bearings,  will  show  him¬ 
self  a  workman  who  has  no  need  to  be  ashamed,  and  at  the 
same  time  will  find  a  way  to  make  the  service  attractive 
without  making  it  merely  amusing. 

It  does  not  follow  that  the  Sunday-evening  service  should 
be  converted  into  a  “forum”  for  the  presentation  of  these 
subjects  from  every  point  of  view.  The  forum,  as  popu¬ 
larly  known,  while  ethical,  is  not  necessarily  religious.  Its 
atmosphere  is  one  of  debate  rather  than  worship.  There 


92 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


should  be  a  place  where  every  community  may  assemble  to 
do  what  is  done  in  the  forum.  But  wherever  possible  it  is 
wiser  to  meet  in  a  public  hall  than  a  church.  If  the  church 
is  the  only  available  meeting  place,  the  forum  should  be 
held  at  some  other  than  an  hour  set  apart  for  worship. 

Interpreting  in  modern  terms  the  great  doctrines  of  Chris¬ 
tianity  is  also  a  part  of  the  educational  task  of  the  minister. 
Neglect  of  this  matter  has  resulted  in  filling  our  churches 
with  a  generation  of  Christians  who  neither  know  what  to 
believe,  nor  why.  Any  babbler,  with  a  positive  air,  can 
disturb  them.  The  blame  must  fall  upon  a  ministry  which 
forgot  to  expound  in  untechnical  language  the  fundamentals 
of  Christian  belief — the  doctrines  of  God,  sin,  redemption, 
immortality,  biblical  inspiration,  revelation,  and  infallibility, 
and  the  like.  Nothing  will  give  stability  to  faith  except 
clear  thinking  on  these  high  themes,  and  for  leadership  in 
this  the  church  has  a  right  to  look  to  the  minister.  Within 
recent  months  a  “summer  preacher”  filled  one  of  the  most 
famous  Methodist  churches  on  warm  Sunday  evenings  by 
preaching  a  series  of  sermons  on  these  substantial  and 
presumably  unpopular  subjects.  A  few  years  ago  another 
preacher  in  another  city  maintained  a  strong  Sunday-eve¬ 
ning  service  throughout  a  whole  summer  by  interpreting 
the  message  of  one  of  the  Old  Testament  prophets.  Still 
another  found  that  an  unsuspected  number  were  interested 
in  Christian  biography,  as  he  spoke  helpfully  concerning  the 
great  personalities  in  modern  church  history.  The  experi¬ 
ence  of  these  preachers  opens  the  way  for  believing  that 
when  the  minister  addresses  himself  earnestly  and  intelli¬ 
gently  to  the  educational  phase  of  his  task,  so  far  as  it  con¬ 
cerns  his  pulpit  utterances,  that  fact  will  be  appreciated  by 
many. 

4.  Clearly,  the  maintenance  of  the  Sunday-evening  service 
calls  for  the  most  conscientious  labor.  It  has  failed  often 
because  it  has  had  only  fragments  of  time  for  preparation 
that  remained  after  the  minister  had  exhausted  himself  on 
the  morning  service.  It  is  not  well  attended  in  many  in- 


THE  SUNDAY  EVENING  SERVICE 


93 


stances  because  it  is  not  worth  attending.  The  pastor  must 
find  a  way  to  keep  himself  physically  fresh  for  this  service. 
A  tired  man  is  incapable  of  inspiring  leadership.  And  he 
must  keep  fresh  mentally.  Study,  study ,  study  must  be  the 
dominant  passion  of  his  life !  How  to  do  it  all  in  view  of 
the  manifold  demands  upon  his  time  may  be  a  very  great 
problem.  But  he  must  find  a  way  or  suffer  the  consequence 
— that  is,  a  devitalized  evening  service.  And  the  way  may 
be  found  by  the  minister  who  puts  his  mind  into  his  work. 

Books  Recommended  for  Further  Study 

Washington  Gladden,  The  Christian  Pastor ,  Chapter  VI. 

L.  H.  Bugbee,  Living  Leaders  Judged  by  Christian  Standards. 

H.  S.  Coffin,  Some  Christian  Convictions. 

C.  E.  Jefferson,  Things  Fundamental. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


MID-WEEK  SERVICES 

Many  Catholic  and  Protestant  Episcopalian  churches  are 
open  every  day  that  individual  worshipers  may  enter  for 
rest  and  prayer.  Some  provide,  in  addition,  one  or  more 
services  of  worship  daily.  The  so-called  evangelical 
churches,  however,  usually  maintain  but  one  service  between 
Sundays,  designated  variously  as  the  “midweek  service,” 
or  the  “prayer  meeting,”  or  the  “social  meeting.”  The 
service,  as  a  rule,  is  not  largely  attended.  Because  of  this, 
it  is  considered  quite  as  much  a  problem  as  the  Sunday¬ 
evening  service.  As  with  the  evening  service,  the  first  long 
step  toward  the  solution  of  the  problem  is  to  understand 
clearly  the  proper  function  of  the  service. 

i.  Two  great  reasons  appear  to  justify  a  midweek  meet¬ 
ing  for  the  church.  The  first  is  the  need  of  individual 
Christians  for  frequent  conference  concerning  the  spiritual 
life.  Among  Methodists  this  need  has  dominated  the 
service  so  completely  that  only  the  name  “prayer  meeting” 
accurately  describes  its  nature.  Very  properly  it  differs 
greatly  from  the  more  formal  services  of  the  Sabbath.  The 
leader  usually  is  the  pastor,  or  one  whom  he  has  selected, 
who  gives  direction  to  the  meeting  without  too  much  in¬ 
sistence  upon  a  prescribed  order.  The  customary  features 
of  the  service  are  songs,  prayers,  a  Scripture  lesson,  a  brief 
address,  and  testimonies.  The  notable  fact  about  the 
meeting  is  its  democracy.  The  songs,  while  “congrega¬ 
tional,”  are  frequently  chosen  by  persons  in  the  audience ; 
the  prayers  are  generally  extemporaneous  prayers  by  the 
laity,  both  men  and  women ;  and  the  testimonies,  having  to 
do  with  the  inner  aspirations  and  longings,  or  failures  and 
defeats,  are  made  by  devout  men  and  women. 

94 


MID-WEEK  SERVICES 


95 


Non-Methodists  are  sharply  aware  of  the  weakness  of 
this  service.  Of  the  “testimony  meeting"  Gladden  writes, 
“Such  a  recital,  if  modestly  and  honestly  made,  by  persons 
who  are  living  serious  lives,  might  often  have  great  value ; 
but  it  is  greatly  to  be  feared  that  those  whose  lives  are  most 
serious  are  least  inclined  to  give  absolutely  truthful  reports 
of  their  own  spiritual  states ;  and  of  that  which  is  most  in¬ 
timate  and  vital  it  is  hardly  possible  to  tell  the  story.  The 
danger  is  that  ‘experience  meetings’  will  degenerate  into  a 
recital  of  well-worn  phrases  which  represent  no  real  facts 
of  the  inner  life.  The  mischief  of  such  insincerity  must  be 
very  great.  When  one  who  has  scarcely  thought  of  spiritual 
things  during  the  week — his  mind  having  been  wholly  ab¬ 
sorbed  in  the  pleasures  and  strifes  of  the  world — goes  into 
the  weekly  meeting  and  fluently  expresses  his  deep  interest 
in  the  great  things  of  the  Kingdom,  and  testifies  that  he  is 
making  steady  progress  in  the  religious  life,  the  injury  to 
his  own  character  must  be  deep,  and  the  effect  upon  the 
minds  of  those  who  know  him  well,  most  unhappy.  To  this 
insincerity  the  cut-and-dried  experience-meeting  affords  a 
strong  temptation.  Everyone  is  expected  to  give  some  ac¬ 
count  of  his  own  spiritual  condition,  and  no  one  likes  to  give 
a  discouraging  report.  It  is  too  easy  to  assume  a  virtue 
which  one  does  not  possess,  and  to  avow  an  interest  which 
is  optative  rather  than  actual.”1  It  is  only  fair  to  say  that 
this  does  not  represent  Gladden’s  whole  thought  of  this  type 
of  service.  In  other  connections  he  is  very  appreciative. 
Many  Methodists  will  thank  him,  however,  for  his  criticism, 
for  he  expresses  precisely  what  they  feel,  yet  hardly  dare 
to  say.  If  the  prayer  meeting  could  be  rescued  from  the 
control  of  “ignorant,  effusive,  opinionated  persons,  who 
have  no  wisdom  to  impart  and  no  inspiration  to  convey,  .  .  . 
who  only  succeed  in  gratifying  their  own  vanity  or  in  con¬ 
firming  their  own  delusions,  while  they  irritate  and  disgust 
the  sensible  people  who  listen  to  them,”  doubtless  thought¬ 
ful  and  substantial  people  would  attend  in  larger  numbers. 


xOp.  cit.,  p.  241  f.  Used  by  permission  of  Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 


96 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


This  constitutes  the  great  problem  of  the  prayer  meeting — 
to  save  it  from  the  “prayer-meeting  killer,”  and  make  it  a 
source  of  spiritual  power  for  the  whole  church,  without 
destroying  its  democratic  character  or  changing  it  into  a 
pale  imitation  of  a  Sunday  service. 

That  the  prayer  meeting  has  survived  the  strain  put  upon 
it  by  its  weak,  ignorant,  insincere,  and  sometimes  Phari¬ 
saical  friends,  suggests  strongly  that  it  is  well  designed  to 
serve  a  fundamental  need  of  the  religious  life.  That  need 
is  found  in  the  demand  for  verbal  expression  which  is  made 
by  a  genuine  religious  experience.  The  redeemed  of  the 
Lord  ever  have  felt  impelled  to  say  so.  Whenever  God  be¬ 
comes  very  real,  and  the  soul  is  filled  with  a  sense  of  power, 
joy,  and  safety,  from  conscious  fellowship  with  the  Infinite, 
the  lips  will  not  be  restrained.  An  attempt  to  suppress  the 
feeling  only  turns  it  into  a  “fire  in  the  bones”  which  threat¬ 
ens  to  consume  one.  If  any  fear  that  immodesty  attaches 
to  the  expression  of  such  intimate  emotions,  let  Horace 
Bushnell,  who  cannot  be  accused  of  Methodist  fervor,  re¬ 
assure  them:  “No  one  ever  thinks  it  a  matter  of  delicacy, 
or  genuine  modesty,  to  entirely  suppress  any  reasonable  joy; 
least  of  all,  any  fit  testimony  of  gratitude  toward  a  deliv¬ 
erer  for  deliverance.  ...  In  the  same  simple  way,  all  am¬ 
bition  apart,  all  conceit  of  self  forgot,  all  artificial  and  mock 
modesty  excluded,  it  will  be  the  instinct  of  everyone  who 
loves  God  to  acknowledge  him.”2  And  not  only  is  testi¬ 
mony  essential  to  him  who  knows  the  “joy  of  salvation,” 
but  it  is  exceedingly  helpful  and  interesting  to  those  who 
hear,  provided  only  that  the  note  of  reality  appears  all 
the  way  through.  So  long  as  the  recital  is  simple,  clear, 
and  unaffected,  having  to  do  only  with  that  which  the 
speaker  himself  has  verified  or  is  trying  to  verify  in  Chris¬ 
tian  experience,  it  has  power  to  encourage  the  hesitant  and 
faltering  as  almost  nothing  else  does. 

It  should  be  said  that  there  is  no  special  virtue  in  num- 

Tn  Sermons  for  the  New  Life ,  quoted  by  Gladden,  op.  cit.,  p. 
247. 


MID-WEEK  SERVICES 


97 


bers  of  testimonies  as  such.  One  testimony  of  the  right 
sort  is  worth  many  of  the  mechanical,  rapid-fire,  sentence- 
testimonies  so  much  in  vogue  in  young  people’s  meetings. 
And  this  applies  to  prayers  as  well  as  testimonies.  They 
are  too  fragmentary  and  too  lacking  in  reflection  to  be  very 
valuable.  On  the  other  hand,  there  is  little  profit  in  the 
words  of  one  or  two  individuals,  blessed  with  “the  gift  of 
continuance/’  who  take  all  the  time  available  for  this  part 
of  the  service. 

After  sincerity  and  reality,  the  average  prayer  meeting 
is  in  sore  need  of  improvement  at  the  point  of  its  music. 
The  songs,  of  course,  should  be  simple,  but  they  may  be 
that  without  being  silly  and  inane.  It  is  not  too  much  to 
say  that  a  thoughtful  Christian  cannot  join  in  the  singing 
in  many  prayer  meetings  and  keep  his  self-respect.  There 
is  an  abundance  of  music  in  the  Methodist  Hymnal  beauti¬ 
fully  adapted  to  prayer-meeting  purposes.  One  will  lose 
nothing  in  passing  by  entirely  all  compilations  which  were 
prepared  with  an  eye  more  open  to  the  commercial  profits  of 
the  publisher  than  the  spiritual  edification  of  the  worshipers. 
“The  vulgarization  of  the  tastes  and  the  depravation  of  the 
sentiments  of  worshipers  through  the  use  of  sensational  and 
sentimental  prayer-meeting  hymns  and  tunes  has  been  a 
grave  injury  to  religion  in  America.” 

And  after  the  music,  the  next  great  need  of  many  a 
prayer  meeting  is  more  conscientious  consideration  on  the 
part  of  the  pastor.  If  he  does  not  regard  it  as  deserving  of 
his  time  and  thought  in  planning  and  preparation,  he  cannot 
reasonably  expect  it  to  be  attractive.  In  any  case,  scolding 
the  people  because  they  do  not  attend  is  not  likely  to  draw 
them.  Make  the  service  as  helpful  and  attractive  in  itself 
as  possible,  invite  the  congregation  pleasantly  and  cordially, 
and  then  believe  that  where  even  two  or  three  are  gathered 
together  in  Christ's  name ,  Christ  himself  will  be  in  the  midst. 
And  those  who  do  attend  will  always  be  glad  to  go  again. 

2.  The  second  fact  to  justify  a  midweek  service  arises 
in  connection  with  the  work  of  the  church  as  a  corporate 


98 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


body.  Larger  use  of  the  prayer  meeting  to  serve  this  need 
has  redeemed  several  midweek  services  in  a  notable  manner. 
The  work  of  the  church  requires  trained  lay  leadership. 
The  membership  generally  is  uninformed  concerning  the 
great  community  problems — philanthropy,  public  health, 
education,  industry,  etc. — and  the  proper  relation  of  the 
church  toward  them.  The  missionary  task,  at  home  and 
abroad,  is  unfamiliar.  The  Christian  Bible  is  unknown, 
except  in  the  most  superficial  way,  to  most  Christians. 
These  facts,  and  others,  make  imperative  demands  for  con¬ 
sideration.  When  and  how  may  the  church  intelligently  ad¬ 
dress  itself  to  them?  There  is  no  better  occasion  than  the 
midweek  service.  So  “Prayer-Meeting  Night”  has  become 
“Church-Training  Night”  in  many  churches.  The  congre¬ 
gation  assembles  for  supper  at  half-past  six,  coming  directly 
from  their  daily  labor.  An  hour  is  devoted  to  the  meal  and 
social  fellowship.  This  is  followed  by  three  quarters  of  an 
hour  of  praise,  prayer,  and  testimony.  The  company  then 
breaks  up  into  several  study  groups,  the  Sunday-school 
workers  to  consider  their  problems,  the  Epworth  Leaguers 
theirs,  others  for  Bible  study,  still  others  for  mission  study, 
and  yet  others  for  the  consideration  of  community  matters, 
each  for  another  three  quarters  of  an  hour.  The  whole 
program  is  completed  in  two  hours  and  a  half.  It  is  easy 
to  see  how  prayer-meeting  night  might  thus  become  a  real 
event  in  the  life  of  the  church. 

This  kind  of  program,  of  course,  requires  careful  plan¬ 
ning.  The  most  important  matter  is  the  leadership  of  the 
several  classes.  No  groups  should  be  organized  which  can¬ 
not  be  provided  with  competent  guides.  Where  the  whole 
number  is  small,  the  pastor  himself  may  take  charge  of 
them  during  the  study  hour  as  a  single  group,  considering 
now  one  and  now  another  subject.  Some  such  combination 
of  worship  with  instruction  can  be  effected  in  any  church, 
large  or  small.  A  few  who  do  not  like  innovations  may 
complain  at  hrst,  but  even  they  will  be  won  at  last  by  the 
success  of  the  plan. 


MID-WEEK  SERVICES 


99 


3.  The  class  meeting,  as  a  formal  organization,  has  all 
but  disappeared  from  American  Methodism.  This  fact  is 
an  occasion  for  dismay  to  some,  while  others,  of  equal  piety, 
regard  it  as  natural  and  inevitable.  It  came  into  existence 
to  serve  a  specific  need,  but  in  these  days  of  complex  or¬ 
ganization,  when  other  agencies  do  its  work,  it  is  no  longer 
vital  to  the  life  of  the  church.  In  the  beginning  Methodism 
was  only  a  “movement”  within  the  Anglican  Church.  All 
Methodists  were  Anglicans,  though  not  all  Anglicans  were 
Methodists — only  that  portion  of  them  who  were  stirred  by 
Wesley’s  interpretation  of  the  doctrines  of  Christian  experi¬ 
ence,  such  as  justification,  regeneration,  assurance,  and 
sanctification.  These  came  together  in  their  respective  com¬ 
munities  for  mutual  counsel  and  fellowship  after  Wesley 
or  his  preachers  had  gone.  One  of  the  number  was  ap¬ 
pointed  to  receive  the  contributions  of  the  group  for  the 
support  of  the  movement.  Gradually  this  leader  became  a 
kind  of  subpastor  charged  with  responsibility  for  the 
spiritual  care  of  the  society  between  the  rare  visits  of  a 
“traveling  preacher.”  Throughout  Wesley’s  lifetime  “the 
class”  was  the  unit  of  his  movement,  and  the  class  leader 
was  as  important  as  the  modern  pastor. 

Likewise  for  many  years  in  America  “the  class”  and  “the 
class  leader”  were  indispensable  elements  in  the  life  of  the 
church.  There  were  no  “settled”  pastors,  such  as  Con- 
gregationalists  and  Presbyterians  knew — only  “itinerant 
preachers”  each  of  whom  was  in  reality  a  bishop  or  super¬ 
intendent  who  supervised  a  large  number  of  classes  grouped 
together  into  a  “circuit,”  called  his  “pastoral  charge.” 
Though  he  traveled  constantly,  the  preacher  could  visit  each 
“point”  on  his  circuit  only  a  few  times  each  year.  Mean¬ 
time  he  must  depend  upon  the  local  class  leader  for  that 
intimate  pastoral  oversight  which  settled  ministers  gave  in 
other  communions.  And  between  visits  of  the  preacher, 
this  leader,  chosen  for  his  piety  and  good  judgment,  would 
meet  the  class  weekly  for  prayer,  interchange  of  experi¬ 
ence,  exhortation,  and  advice.  Out  of  this  simple  form 


100 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


grew  the  complex  organization  known  as  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church. 

To-day  the  “circuit  system”  is  being  rapidly  abandoned. 
At  best  it  was  only  a  makeshift,  justified  by  the  poverty  of 
the  settlers  and  the  inability  of  the  church  to  serve  other¬ 
wise  a  rapidly  advancing  and  widely  scattered  population. 
The  ideal  of  the  present  is  to  appoint  a  trained  pastor  for 
each  church  just  as  rapidly  as  the  individual  churches  be¬ 
come  able  to  support  them.  Thus  the  pastor  takes  the  place 
once  held  by  the  class  leader,  and  under  him  a  rather  ex¬ 
tensive  corps  of  lay  officials  in  charge  of  the  several  organ¬ 
izations  within  the  church.  The  weekly  prayer  meeting 
affords  the  opportunity  for  spiritual  culture  once  provided 
by  the  class  meeting.  The  Finance  Committee  and  the  col¬ 
lectors  receive  the  gifts  of  the  people.  So  that,  all  in  all, 
it  would  appear  that  the  spiritual  nurture  of  the  member¬ 
ship  of  the  church  is  adequately  provided  for,  even  though 
the  class  meeting  has  ceased  to  function  in  its  old-time  way. 

Recently  the  class-meeting  idea  was  revived  in  the  so- 
called  “unit  system,”  which  requires  that  every  member  of 
the  church  be  assigned  to  a  group  of  ten  or  twelve.  One  in 
the  group  is  appointed  “unit  leader,”  and  he,  in  turn,  as¬ 
signs  responsibility  to  other  members  for  particular  tasks. 
For  example,  one  will  distribute  missionary  literature,  an¬ 
other  will  be  stewardship  secretary,  and  yet  another  will 
propagate  the  life-service  idea.  This  was  the  class  meeting 
galvanized  into  new  life  for  a  special  emergency.  The  un¬ 
wieldiness  of  the  organization,  however,  prevents  it  being 
popular  in  a  church  already  elaborately  organized,  now 
that  the  emergency  has  passed.  The  real  “class”  in  Meth¬ 
odism  to-day  is  the  Sunday-school  class,  and  the  “class 
leader,”  the  Sunday-school  teacher,  who  has  all  the  respon¬ 
sibility  of  the  former  leader  and  more. 

In  a  few  churches  what  is  called  “the  class”  in  the  older 
sense  meets  weekly,  generally  on  Sunday  before  morning 
worship.  This  has  great  value  for  those  who  attend  in  pre¬ 
paring  the  mind  and  heart  for  the  service  which  follows. 


MID-WEEK  SERVICES' 


IOI 


It  is  likewise  helpful  to  the  pastor,  who  knows  that  this 
group  of  devout  persons  support  him  sympathetically  as 
they  pray. 

4.  The  Epworth  League  came  into  being  a  third  of  a 
century  ago  to  render  a  manifold  service  to  the  young  life 
of  the  church.  Within  that  period,  the  organized  Bible 
class  has  made  its  appearance  and  now  undertakes  in  many 
churches  much  of  the  work  formerly  done  by  the  League. 
Nothing,  however,  has  superseded  the  League  as  an  instru¬ 
ment  for  devotional  culture  among  young  people.  If  it  does 
no  more  in  the  local  church,  at  least  it  conducts  a  young 
people’s  prayer  meeting,  sometimes  midweek,  but  more 
generally  on  Sunday  evenings.  Here  immature  believers 
receive  most  valuable  training  in  expressing  religious  ex¬ 
perience  and  in  leading  religious  meetings.  Besides  this, 
the  general  organization  conducts  several  score  of  Summer 
Institutes  in  every  part  of  the  country  each  year  where 
delegates  from  almost  every  church  are  trained  in  the  art 
of  lay  leadership.  No  society  in  the  church  is  doing  more 
to  make  an  effective  church  in  the  future  than  the  Epworth 
League.  The  wise  pastor  will  bend  every  effort  to  secure 
a  large  attendance  from  his  church  at  these  summer  con¬ 
ferences. 


Books  Recommended  for  Further  Study 

Committee  on  Conservation  and  Advance  (pamphlet),  Church 
Training  Night. 

Dan  B.  Brummitt,  The  Efficient  Epworthian. 

Luccock  and  Cook,  The  Mid-Week  Service. 


CHAPTER  IX 


LITURGICAL  SERVICES 

There  are  occasional  services  of  such  nature  and  im¬ 
portance  that  the  church  has  prescribed  in  great  detail  the 
lessons,  prayers,  and  addresses  which  shall  be  used.  Of 
course  these  are  not  commanded  in  the  sense  that  a  min¬ 
ister  would  be  brought  to  trial  for  disregarding  them,  but 
it  is  expected  that  he  shall  use  them  in  conducting  the  serv¬ 
ices  for  which  they  are  designed,  and  any  unauthorized  de¬ 
parture  therefrom  is  more  likely  to  offend  than  commend 
itself  to  good  taste.  The  originality  of  the  minister  may 
better  show  itself  in  filling  these  forms  with  life  and  power 
than  by  changing  them. 

The  ritual  is  for  the  most  part  adapted  from  the  Book 
of  Common  Prayer  of  the  Anglican  Church.  Its  history 
carries  back  directly  to  the  First  Prayer  Book  of  Edward 
VI,  which  was  generally  used  for  the  first  time  on  June  8, 
1549.  This  book  was  the  work  of  the  English  National 
Church  under  Archbishop  Cranmer  when  the  leadership 
of  the  bishop  of  Rome  was  repudiated.  The  aim  was  to 
compile  a  Service  Book  from  materials  long  in  possession 
of  the  church,  which  would  be  free  from  the  false  doctrines 
and  superstitious  practices  which  characterized  the  several 
Roman  liturgies  in  common  use  in  England,  and  which 
would  be  in  the  language  of  the  people  rather  than  Latin. 
The  book  has  been  revised  a  number  of  times,  but  the  pres¬ 
ent  Book  of  Common  Prayer  is  substantially  the  same  as 
the  First  Book  of  Edward.  John  Wesley  admired  this 
liturgy  greatly.  The  “Sunday  Service”  which  he  prepared 
for  American  Methodists  is  but  an  abbreviation  of  the 
Prayer  Book.  In  the  preface  to  that  service  he  wrote: 
“I  believe  there  is  no  liturgy  in  all  the  world,  either  in  an- 

102 


LITURGICAL  SERVICES 


103 


cient  or  modern  language,  which  breathes  more  of  a  solid, 
scriptural,  rational  piety  than  the  Common  Prayer  of  the 
Church  of  England.  And  though  the  main  part  of  it  was 
compiled  more  than  two  hundred  years  ago,1  yet  is  the  lan¬ 
guage  of  it  not  only  pure,  but  strong  and  elegant  in  the 
highest  degree.  Little  alteration  is  made  in  the  following 
edition  of  it.”  In  the  use  of  these  forms,  crudities  and 
carelessness  of  administration  destroy  their  value,  and  every 
minister  should  learn  to  conduct  them  with  such  grace  that 
the  congregation  will  be  impressed  with  a  proper  sense  of 
their  beauty  and  worth. 

1.  Baptism.  Baptism  is  recognized  as  a  sacrament  by 
all  evangelical  Protestant  bodies  except  the  Friends.  Chris¬ 
tianity  adapted  the  rite  from  the  Hebrews,  who  in  common 
with  other  Semitic  peoples  used  water  freely  in  symbolic 
washings  in  worship.  The  act  of  baptism  represents  the 
Spirit  of  God  as  cleansing  and  renewing  the  spirit  of  man. 
At  the  same  time  it  marks  those  who  are  included  in  the 
Christian  fellowship,  the  church,  and  has  done  so  from 
New  Testament  times.  We  do  not  believe  in  baptismal  re¬ 
generation.  The  rite  merely  recognizes  the  inward  action 
of  the  Spirit  which  takes  place  independently  of  the  out¬ 
ward  washing. 

Three  modes  of  baptism  are  recognized  by  Methodists 
as  equally  valid — immersion,  sprinkling,  and  pouring.  Since 
one  is  admitted  into  the  church  once  for  all,  this  rite  is  to 
be  performed  but  once  in  the  lifetime  of  a  Christian,  though 
we  have  no  patience  with  the  extreme  teaching  that  “the 
act  can  never  be  repeated  without  sacrilege.”2  Since  it  is 
a  sign  of  admission  into  the  church,  the  proper  place  for 
the  service  is  in  the  church,  though,  of  course,  it  may  be 
performed  elsewhere  whenever  the  circumstances  seem  to 
warrant.  The  real  church  is  found  where  two  or  more  be¬ 
lievers  are  met  together  in  Christ’s  name.  Methodists  make 
no  attempt  to  justify  baptism  by  unordained  laymen  because 

Lesley  wrote  this  in  1784. 

3E.  L.  Temple,  The  Church  in  the  Prayer  Book ,  p.  247. 


104 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


they  do  not  regard  the  performance  of  the  rite  as  essential 
to  redemption.  They  find  it  impossible  to  believe  that  the 
guilt  or  innocence  of  the  soul  is  determined  by  this  outward 
washing. 

Two  forms  of  the  service  are  provided — one  for  infants 
and  small  children,  and  the  other  for  persons  of  ''riper 
years,”  those  who  are  capable  of  taking  upon  themselves 
vows.  In  the  order  for  infants  three  great  assumptions  give 
character  to  the  whole  service.  The  first  appears  in  the 
opening  address  to  the  congregation — that  little  children  are 
already  within  the  kingdom  of  God  and  the  church,  and 
that  God’s  spirit  is  already  given  to  them.  The  second  is 
that  the  parents  or  legally  appointed  guardians  are  the 
natural  sponsors  of  the  child,  and  the  major  responsibility 
for  his  spiritual  training  cannot  be  transferred  to  godfathers 
and  godmothers.  Any  number  of  persons  may  stand  and 
take  the  vows  with  the  parents,  but  no  one  can  act  as  a  sub¬ 
stitute  for  them  in  this  matter.  In  this  respect  our  service 
contrasts  notably  with  the  Prayer  Book.  The  third  as¬ 
sumption  is  that  the  church  publicly  acknowledges  its  obli- 
gation  to  provide  for  the  spiritual  nurture  of  the  child 
which  belongs  to  it.  Apart  from  these  assumptions,  the 
service  is  only  a  superstitious  practice.  He  is  a  wise  pastor 
who  visits  in  advance  the  parents  of  children  to  be  presented 
for  baptism  and  makes  sure  that  they  understand  the  obli¬ 
gations  which  they  are  to  assume. 

Except  when  administered  privately,  the  service  is  usually 
a  part  of  the  public  worship  of  the  congregation.  The 
parents  and  other  sponsors  are  invited  to  present  the  child 
(or  children)  near  the  baptismal  font,  generally  during  one 
of  the  regular  hymns.  The  minister,  standing  before  them, 
addresses  the  congregation,  inviting  their  prayers  on  behalf 
of  the  child  to  be  baptized,  and  leads  in  that  prayer.  The 
address  to  the  parents  follows,  in  which  a  promise  is  ex¬ 
acted  that  the  child  shall  be  instructed  in  the  meaning  of  the 
rite  and  given  such  other  religious  discipline  as  shall  bring 
it  to  spiritual  consciousness  in  due  time.  After  the  pledge 


LITURGICAL  SERVICES 


105 


is  given,  the  congregation  rises  while  a  short  lesson  is  read, 
and  should  remain  standing  during  the  act  of  baptism  un¬ 
less  the  number  of  candidates  is  very  large.  Immediately 
after  the  lesson  the  minister  takes  the  child  in  his  own  arms 
and,  asking,  “What  name  shall  be  given  to  this  child?”  dips 
up  a  little  water  in  his  right  hand  and  pours  or  sprinkles  it 
upon  the  head  of  the  child  as  he  repeats  the  Christian  name 
only  (for  example,  Charles  Edward — not  Charles  Edward 
Jones)  together  with  the  baptismal  formula.  Returning  the 
child  to  the  parents,  he  leads  the  kneeling  congregation  again 
in  prayer,  concluding  with  the  Lord’s  Prayer,  in  which  all 
participate  audibly.  Dignity  and  impressiveness  may  be 
given  to  the  service  if  the  congregation  shall  join  heartily 
in  those  parts  of  the  service  printed  in  heavy  type. 

It  is  the  habit  of  some  ministers  to  kiss  the  baptized  child 
before  returning  it  to  the  parents.  This  affectation  should 
be  avoided  since  it  adds  nothing  to  the  impressiveness  of  the 
service  and  is  an  unnecessary  and  sentimental  assertion  of 
the  minister’s  individuality.  The  minister  should  give  the 
parents  a  certificate  of  baptism  for  the  child  and  enroll  its 
name  in  his  own  record  of  baptized  children,  whose  status 
is  that  of  probationers  in  the  church. 

The  order  for  persons  of  “riper  years”  differs  from  that 
for  infants  only  in  such  respects  as  the  difference  in  ma¬ 
turity  and  spiritual  condition  requires.  The  promises  are 
exacted  of  the  candidates  themselves  and  have  to  do  with 
matters  of  belief,  ethical  practice,  and  religious  purpose. 
The  baptismal  formula  is  the  same  in  both  orders.  Follow¬ 
ing  the  act  of  baptism  the  congregation  kneels  and  repeats 
audibly  the  Lord’s  Prayer,  which  may  be  followed  by  ex¬ 
temporaneous  prayer.  The  answers  to  the  questions  are 
prescribed  in  the  ritual,  a  copy  of  which  should  be  in  the 
hands  of  each  candidate.  If  the  candidate  does  not  have 
the  printed  service,  it  is  much  better  to  let  him  frame  his 
own  answers  than  to  tell  him  aloud  what  he  is  expected  to 
repeat  parrot-fashion.  This  inevitably  produces  a  sense  of 
unreality  that  jars  upon  the  spirit  of  true  devotion.  It  ap- 


io6 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


plies  as  well  to  the  answers  made  to  the  questions  asked  of 
persons  being  received  into  the  church.  When  performed 
privately,  the  service,  in  either  of  its  forms,  may  be  ab¬ 
breviated  according  to  circumstances,  provided,  of  course, 
that  the  essential  parts — the  interrogations  and  the  formula 
— shall  never  be  omitted. 

2.  The  Holy  Communion.  The  value  of  this  sacrament 
depends  largely  upon  the  way  in  which  it  is  administered. 
The  administrant  may  put  so  little  of  his  individuality  into 
it  as  to  make  it  purely  mechanical.  Or,  he  may  show  in 
word  and  action  such  understanding  of  the  significance  of 
the  rite,  such  appreciation  of  its  beauty,  such  a  sense  of 
joy  tempered  by  humility  and  reverence  at  the  privilege  of 
participating  in  it  as  to  make  it  the  chief  means  of  grace  to 
believers. 

To  administer  in  this  way  involves,  of  course,  much  more 
than  the  mastery  of  the  technique  of  the  service.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  cannot  be  administered  effectively  without 
this  knowledge,  and  the  mastery  of  these  details  becomes  an 
important  part  of  the  duty  of  anyone  who  undertakes  to 
use  a  ritual.  The  more  important  instructions  are  printed 
in  the  order.  Certain  minor  matters,  however,  are  over¬ 
looked  which  have  much  to  do  with  the  impressiveness  of 
the  service.  In  the  absence  of  specific  direction,  we  are  to 
be  guided,  in  part,  it  is  assumed,  by  the  practice  and  ideals 
of  the  Anglicans  from  whom  we  received  the  service,  and 
in  other  part,  by  the  preference  of  those  among  us  who 
possess  the  most  discriminating  taste  in  such  matters. 

a.  Ordinarily  the  service  is  made  a  part  of  the  regular 
worship  of  the  congregation  once  every  two  or  three  months, 
the  communion  being  preceded  by  the  usual  hymns,  prayers, 
a  short  sermon,  and  reception  of  members.  Before  the  hour 
appointed  for  worship  it  is  customary  to  cover  the  table 
which  stands  behind  the  rail  and  in  front  of  the  pulpit  with 
a  “fair  linen  cloth,”  upon  which  are  set  plates  of  bread  con¬ 
veniently  cut  into  strips  or  broken  into  small  pieces,  and  a 
pitcher  of  unfermented  grape  juice,  together  with  an  empty 


LITURGICAL  SERVICES 


107 


cup  or  a  number  of  small  individual  cups.  These  in  turn 
are  all  covered  with  another  white  cloth  awaiting  the  mo¬ 
ment  when  they  shall  be  used. 

b.  Inasmuch  as  the  service  is  a  memorial  of  the  sacrifice 
of  Christ,  it  is  fitting  that  it  should  begin  with  a  special 
offering  on  the  part  of  the  congregation,  which  is  received 
by  the  collectors  while  the  minister  reads  a  number  of  hor¬ 
tatory  verses  selected  from  the  Scripture.  This  offering  is 
generally  used  for  the  relief  of  the  poor  in  the  church  and 
the  community.  If  time  permits,  it  is  well  to  use  the  Ten 
Commandments  as  a  Litany  (see  Hymnal ,  Number  738) 
before  the  offering  or  as  a  substitute  for  the  offering  in  the 
event  that,  for  a  good  cause,  it  is  omitted. 

c.  After  the  offering  the  minister  removes  and  folds  care¬ 
fully  the  cover  which  is  spread  over  the  bread  and  wine, 
laying  it  conveniently  near  for  use  again.  He  should  then 
take  his  place  at  the  right  side  of  the  table  as  he  faces  the 
congregation,3  which  is  the  station  from  which  he  is  to 
administer  the  whole  service,  and  read  the  Invitation  to  the 
standing  congregation.  Those  who  are  to  assist  him  should 
come  within  the  chancel  at  this  time.  Then  follows  the 
General  Confession,  in  which  ministers  and  people  partici¬ 
pate  audibly  as  they  kneel,  the  ministers  about  the  table 
facing  toward  the  elements. 

d.  It  is  customary  for  the  administrant  to  ask  his  as¬ 
sistants  to  read  the  prayers  which  precede  the  Prayer  of 
Consecration.  Lack  of  familiarity  with  congregational 
prayers  may  make  it  necessary  to  urge  the  people  at  the 
beginning  of  the  service  to  join  heartily  in  the  General 
Confession,  the  Collect  for  Purity,  and  the  Ter  Sanctus. 
The  Prayer  of  Consecration  is  made  by  the  administrant 
himself,  who  should  take  the  plate  and  cup  in  his  hand  at 
the  appointed  places. 

e.  After  the  Prayer  of  Consecration,  the  minister  him- 


3So  the  Anglicans  and  Protestant  Episcopalians.  See  Samuel 
Hart,  The  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  p.  167. 


io8 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


self  receives  the  communion  in  both  kinds  before  admin¬ 
istering  the  same  to  his  assistants.  A  mistaken  sense  of 
courtesy  has  caused  some  protest  against  this  practice  as 
being  inhospitable.  It  becomes  singularly  appropriate,  how¬ 
ever,  once  it  is  understood  that  this  is  a  symbolic  act  which 
suggests  that  he  who  would  minister  grace  to  others  must 
first  receive  that  grace  himself.  After  serving  his  assist¬ 
ants,  he  resumes  his  place  at  the  right  side  of  the  table, 
leading  in  the  prayer  and  the  Ter  Sanctus,  which  is  to  be 
said  or  sung  by  the  people. 

/.  After  the  Ter  Sanctus,  the  minister  proceeds  to  serve 
the  people  “in  order.”  Presumably  this  means  in  an  orderly 
manner.  This  must  imply  that  only  as  many  are  to  be  al¬ 
lowed  to  kneel  at  the  rail  at  one  time  as  can  be  accommo¬ 
dated  comfortably.  Confusion  and  disorder  result  if  the 
people  kneel  two  or  three  rows  deep.  It  is  likewise  in  the 
interest  of  order  that  as  the  first  retire,  a  second  group  shall 
come  from  the  opposite  side  of  the  house.  Ushers,  properly 
instructed,  may  direct  the  movement  of  the  congregation. 
The  singing  of  devotional  hymns  and  the  playing  of  proper 
selections  on  the  organ  will  do  much  to  create  an  atmosphere 
of  worship  during  this  part  of  the  service  and  stabilize  the 
emotion  of  the  congregation.  The  time  may  be  most  profit¬ 
ably  employed  in  intervals  of  the  service  in  .meditation  and 
introspection,  for  only  as  there  is  a  conscientious  endeavor 
to  realize  the  spiritual  aspects  of  the  sacrament  can  one 
eat  and  drink  worthily  so  that  he  “may  live  and  grow 
thereby.” 

In  view  of  the  ministerial  character  of  their  service,  the 
choir  probably  should  precede  the  congregation  in  com¬ 
municating,  though  usually  they  are  the  last.  On  coming 
to  the  rail,  each  communicant  should  go  to  the  farthest  un¬ 
occupied  space  and  kneel  in  an  upright  manner,  the  women 
with  veils  raised  and  hands  ungloved.  Persons  may  receive 
the  communion,  however,  sitting  or  standing  if  there  is 
good  reason  for  not  kneeling.  It  is  the  practice  of  An¬ 
glicans  to  break  a  small  piece  of  bread  from  strips  which 


LITURGICAL  SERVICES 


109 


are  held  in  the  left  hand,  and  drop  this  into  the  open  palm 
of  the  right  hand  of  the  communicant.  The  prejudice  which 
exists,  however,  in  the  minds  of  most  people  against  han¬ 
dling  food  unnecessarily  makes  it  more  advisable  to  have  the 
bread  cut  into  small  bits  upon  the  plate  and  permit  the  com¬ 
municant  to  help  himself.  For  sanitary  reasons  individual 
cups  too  are  to  be  preferred  to  the  common  cup.  The  empty 
cups  may  be  collected  in  a  tray  provided  for  that  purpose 
after  all  have  been  served. 

It  is  the  common  custom  to  repeat  the  administrative 
formula  for  each  element  a  number  of  times  as  it  is  passed. 
This  is  not  always  edifying,  and  since  we  do  not  hold,  as 
does  the  English  Church,  that  each  communicant  has  an 
inherent  right  to  an  individual  repetition,  it  is  probably 
better  to  repeat  the  formula  clearly  and  distinctly  once  each 
time  the  elements  are  served,  and  then  pass  them  to  the 
communicants  in  silence. 

There  is  no  ritualistic  authority  for  the  time-honored 
practice  of  dismissing  communicants  with  an  exhortation. 
But  some  signal  is  needed  for  all  to  retire  at  once,  and  this 
may  well  justify  the  practice.  Better  than  the  impromptu 
exhortation,  however,  is  a  single  verse  of  Scripture  or  a 
hymn,  concluding  with  the  formal  dismissal :  “Arise,  go  in 
peace.  Amen.”  Or,  better  yet,  the  dismissal  itself  is  suf¬ 
ficient  after  a  moment  has  been  allowed  for  silent  prayer 
and  thanksgiving. 

g.  As  soon  as  all  have  been  served  and  before  the  con¬ 
cluding  prayers ,  the  unused  portion  of  the  consecrated  ele¬ 
ments  should  be  covered  again  with  the  cloth  that  was  re¬ 
moved  at  the  very  beginning  of  the  service.  Then  the  min¬ 
ister  and  people  kneel,  joining  together  in  the  Lord’s  Prayer 
and  a  Prayer  of  Thanksgiving,  at  the  conclusion  of  which 
all  stand  to  repeat  or  chant  “Gloria  in  Excelsis.”  The 
service  concludes  with  the  Benediction. 

3.  The  Marriage  Service.  Unlike  Catholics,  Protes¬ 
tants  do  not  regard  marriage  as  a  sacrament.  It  is  a  most 
sacred  service,  nevertheless,  and  no  minister  should  ever 


no 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


perform  the  rite  without  revealing  in  the  manner  of  its 
performance  his  own  sense  of  its  deep  sanctity.  The  form 
provided  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  ritual  can  hardly  be 
improved,  and  the  directions  are  too  clear  to  need  any  sup¬ 
plementary  statement. 

At  a  time  when  public  opinion  generally  subscribes  to  a 
view  of  marriage  contradictory  to  the  teaching  of  the  New 
Testament,  the  Christian  minister  should  exercise  scrupu¬ 
lous  care  lest  he  contribute  to  the  destruction  of  the  family 
by  performing  marriages  where  one  or  both  parties  have 
been  divorced.  At  the  most,  Jesus  allowed  but  one  cause 
as  sufficient  warrant  for  breaking  the  marriage  relation. 
And  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  does  not  permit  its 
ministers  to  remarry  any  divorced  persons  except  the  inno¬ 
cent  party  in  a  divorce  on  the  ground  of  adultery.  It  may 
be  embarrassing  to  refuse  one’s  services  at  times.  This  is 
a  small  matter,  however,  as  compared  with  the  stultification 
of  oneself  to  avoid  embarrassment  or  to  earn  a  fee.  Noth¬ 
ing  is  more  significant  of  the  power  of  the  church  in  a  ma¬ 
terialistic  age  than  the  eagerness  with  which  nearly  all  per¬ 
sons  covet  the  blessing  of  the  church  in  the  hour  of  marriage 
and  the  hour  of  death.  Marriages  may  be  performed  by 
civil  magistrates.  Most  of  them,  however,  are  performed 
by  ministers.  And  the  church  wall  keep  the  respect  of  the 
community  by  declining  to  adjust  its  views  on  matrimony  to 
those  of  a  gainsaying  generation.  He  is  no  true  minister  of 
Jesus  Christ  who  performs  the  marriage  ceremony  “for 
anyone  who  can  secure  a  license.”  In  a  courteous  manner 
one  may  inquire  whether  either  party  has  been  divorced, 
should  the  license  indicate  a  previous  marriage,  and  why. 
If  a  divorce  has  been  granted  for  any  other  than  the  cause 
allowed  by  Jesus,  the  minister  may  simply  say  that  the  law 
of  his  church  forbids  him  to  perform  the  ceremony.  More¬ 
over,  if  for  any  reason  whatsoever  he  may  feel  that  the 
proposed  marriage  is  ill-advised — the  youth  of  the  parties, 
or  a  frivolous  view  of  matrimony,  or  unsound  conditions 
of  health  or  mind— he  should  decline  to  perform  the  service, 


LITURGICAL  SERVICES 


hi 


though  a  license  from  the  State  be  presented  authorizing  it. 
To  consent  on  the  ground  that  “some  other  minister  will 
marry  them  if  I  do  not”  is  utterly  contemptible.  “If  I  ever 
dare  to  marry,  I  should  want  Dr.  B.  to  marry  me,”  said  a 
woman  professor  in  a  large  women’s  college.  “It  was  a 
solemn  thing  getting  married  by  Dr.  B.  Groom  and  bride 
had  to  have  separate  interviews  with  him.  They  used  to 
say  the  brides  came  out  of  his  study  tearful  and  the  grooms 
sober-faced ;  but  his  marriages  always  turned  out  happy 
ones.”4  All  marriages  should  be  recorded  carefully  in  the 
official  records  of  the  church  as  well  as  certified  to  the 
State  in  the  blank  usually  provided  for  that  purpose.  Need¬ 
less  to  say,  all  marriages  should  be  properly  witnessed. 

4.  The  Funeral.  In  time  of  death,  as  in  marriage,  most 
families  covet  the  help  that  religion  affords.  However 
critical  men  may  be  of  the  church,  they  do  not  care  to  have 
those  whom  they  love  lowered  into  the  earth  without  the 
prayers  and  blessing  of  the  church.  In  such  an  hour  the  pas¬ 
tor  has  a  supreme  opportunity  to  render  a  spiritual  service. 

If  the  deceased  be  a  member  of  the  church,  the  pastor 
will  call  on  the  family  as  soon  as  he  is  informed  of  the 
death,  offering  to  be  helpful  in  any  way  possible.  In  other 
cases  he  will  call  as  soon  as  he  knows  that  his  services  will 
be  needed.  On  these  occasions  usually  he  may  make  pre¬ 
liminary  plans  for  the  funeral  service,  gathering  such  data 
concerning  the  deceased  as  he  may  care  to  use  in  the  ad¬ 
dress.  And  within  a  few  days  after  the  service  he  should 
call  again.  In  making  these  calls  it  is  very  much  more  im¬ 
portant  that  he  be  a  warm-hearted,  sensible  friend  than  an 
ecclesiastic  doing  and  saying  the  professional  things  which 
he  believes  are  expected  of  him.  If  the  family  is  notably 
devout,  it  may  be  perfectly  natural  to  offer  the  consolations 
of  prayer.  If  they  are  not,  or  if  there  is  confusion  and 
distraction  which  would  make  the  suggestion  of  prayer  an 
embarrassment,  he  will  render  his  largest  service  through 
being  just  humanly  sympathetic. 


4From  an  article  in  “The  Christian  Advocate,”  July  6,  1922,  p.  834. 


1 12 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


As  for  the  service  itself,  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
provides  a  ritual  that  is  solemn  and  beautiful,  adapted  from 
that  of  the  Anglican  Church.  Frequently  the  service  will 
consist  only  of  the  lessons  and  prayers  of  this  service — and 
nothing  can  be  in  better  taste!  More  commonly,  however, 
one  or  two  numbers  of  special  music  and  an  address  in 
addition  are  expected.  A  “funeral  sermon”  is  almost  never 
in  order,  even  in  the  rural  districts  to-day.  The  address 
should  not  take  more  than  eight  or  ten  minutes,  and  the 
whole  service  should  be  concluded  in  a  half  hour,  as  a  rule. 
Any  biographical  sketch  of  the  deceased  that  may  be  de¬ 
sirable  should  be  incorporated  into  the  address,  and  while 
proper  appreciation  is  ever  in  order,  overstatement  and 
eulogy  are  distinctly  bad  form.  If  the  departed  was  a 
saint,  that  fact  will  be  already  widely  known.  If  not,  only 
embarrassment  can  follow  from  an  attempt  to  “whiten  a 
sepulcher.”  Any  effort  to  stir  up  the  emotions  of  the  com¬ 
pany,  particularly  of  the  family,  is  reprehensible.  Rather 
the  service  should  soothe  the  harrowed  feelings  of  those  who 
mourn  by  its  quiet  tenderness.  The  proper  material  for  an 
address  at  a  funeral  consists  of  the  fundamental  doctrine 
that  God  is  love,  and  all  other  doctrines  that  are  implied 
in  it.  Many  things  may  happen  that  we  cannot  explain, 
but  nothing  can  carry  us  beyond  the  reach  of  his  love.  Thus 
those  who  stay  are  safe,  and  those  who  go.  “If  we  have 
such  a  Father  in  heaven  as  our  Lord  sought  to  reveal  to  us, 
then  there  are  no  sorrows  that  cannot  be  healed.” 

It  is  a  commendable  custom  of  many  ministers  to  insert 
blank  leaves  in  their  rituals  on  which  they  may  write,  from 
time  to  time,  verses,  sentiments,  and  poems,  gathered  in 
their  reading  which  may  be  appropriately  used  on  funeral 
occasions.  Selections  from  this  compilation  may  be  read  as 
a  part  of  the  address,  or  a  substitute  for  it. 

Methodist  ministers  are  forbidden  to  charge  a  fee  for 
burying  the  dead.  Where  one  is  put  to  considerable  ex¬ 
pense  to  render  this  service,  it  is  assumed  that  the  family 
will  reimburse  him.  But  if  they  should  not  do  so,  he  could 


LITURGICAL  SERVICES 


ii3 

hardly  present  a  bill  for  it.  On  the  other  hand,  he  is  not 
forbidden  to  accept  an  honorarium  if  one  is  offered  without 
solicitation.  When  the  offer  comes  from  a  family  not  con¬ 
nected  with  the  church,  there  is  no  good  reason  for  de¬ 
clining  it,  if  they  can  afford  to  make  it.  It  is  probably  the 
only  way  in  which  they  ever  contribute  to  the  support  of  the 
ministry.  But  if  it  comes  from  one  of  the  families  in  the 
church,  the  minister  will  do  well  to  return  it  with  a  broth¬ 
erly  statement  that  a  good  shepherd  will  not  profit  from 
the  distress  of  one  of  his  sheep.  Undue  readiness  to  accept 
gifts  has  ruined  the  usefulness  of  many  ministers. 

5.  “The  Liturgical  Personality/'’  It  may  appear  that 
rather  unusual  emphasis  has  been  laid  upon  the  mechanics 
of  public  worship.  But  it  has  never  been  forgotten  that 
“the  best  precepts  with  regard  to  liturgical  matters  run  the 
risk  of  failing  of  their  object  unless  powerfully  supported 
by  the  liturgical  personality.”5  Behind  the  pulpit  decorum 
of  the  minister,  the  congregation  must  feel  the  throbbing 
of  a  heart  that  loves  God  devotedly  and  a  spirit  that  is 
sensitive  to  the  most  appropriate  means  of  expressing  that 
affection.  In  free  worship  we  speedily  reach  the  point 
where  no  rule  of  action  can  be  prescribed.  The  only  safe 
guide  is  a  sound  liturgical  instinct.  In  the  development  of 
such  an  instinct  instruction  in  principles  and  methods  of 
worship,  the  study  of  liturgical  writings,  conversation  with 
skilled  liturgists,  all  have  an  important  place,  but  a  place 
that  is  subordinate  to  the  cultivation  of  the  minister’s  own 
spiritual  life  by  private  prayer  and  meditation.  To  give 
his  life  a  “spiritual  bent”  must  be  the  liturgist’s  first  con¬ 
cern.  There  should  be  “no  day  without  special  secret 
prayer,  without  definite  reading  and  reflection  on  Holy 
Scripture,  without,  in  a  word,  an  inner  laving  in  the  re¬ 
freshing  and  invigorating  well-springs  of  a  higher  life.”6 
In  the  interest  of  developing  a  “liturgical  personality”  we 


Wan  Oosterzee,  op  cit.,  p.  443. 

Td.,  p.  445. 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


1 14 

do  well  to  heed  Spurgeon’s  exhortation:  “We  cannot  be  al¬ 
ways  on  the  knees  of  the  body,  but  the  soul  should  never 
leave  the  posture  of  devotion.  The  habit  of  prayer  is  good, 
but  the  spirit  of  prayer  is  better.  As  a  rule,  we  ministers 
ought  never  to  be  many  minutes  without  actually  lifting  up 
our  hearts  in  prayer.” 

Books  Recommended  for  Further  Study 

R.  J.  Cooke,  History  of  the  Ritual  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church. 

C.  C.  Hall  et  al.,  Christian  Worship. 

W.  P.  Thirkield,  Service  and  Prayers. 

Discipline  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  1920,  The  Ritual. 


SECTION  II 


ADMINISTRATION 


CHAPTER  X 


IMPORTANCE  OF  ORGANIZATION 

The  essential  fact  in  Christianity  from  the  beginning  has 
been  an  experience  of  fellowship  between  the  individual 
believer  and  Jesus  Christ.  It  was  most  natural  that  those 
who  enjoyed  this  experience  should  have  been  drawn  to¬ 
gether  into  a  brotherhood  of  believers.  The  mutual  love 
which  characterized  the  earliest  Christians  in  their  rela¬ 
tions  each  to  the  other  was  a  new  thing  in  the  world — so 
unselfish  and  beautiful  that  they  themselves  explained  it  as 
a  divine  creation,  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  who  filled 
the  body  of  believers  with  his  presence,  binding  the  many 
together  into  a  single  organism.  This  fellowship  dates 
from  Pentecost,  which  was  not  the  time,  as  some  suppose, 
when  the  Holy  Spirit  first  came  into  the  world  (God’s  Spirit 
has  been  here  since  he  brooded  over  primeval  chaos),  but 
the  day  when  the  Spirit  created  “the  Beloved  Community.” 

The  atmosphere  of  good  will  which  prevailed  in  the  early 
church  was  very  attractive  to  outsiders  and  very  helpful  to 
new  converts,  whose  faith  was  fortified  not  only  by  the 
teaching  of  the  apostles  but  by  companionship  with  fellow 
believers.  “They  devoted  themselves  to  the  instruction 
given  by  the  apostles  and  to  fellowship,  breaking  bread  and 
praying  together”  (Acts  2.  42,  Moffatt’s  translation).  The 
quality  and  strength  of  this  corporate  unity  are  suggested 
by  the  figures  of  speech  employed  in  the  New  Testament 
to  describe  it — “the  temple  of  God”  (1  Cor.  3.  16),  “the 
body  of  Christ”  (1  Cor.  12.  27),  “a  kingdom”  (1  Thess. 
2.  12),  “a  household”  (Gal.  6.  10).  The  essential  idea  in 
each  instance  is  that  the  many,  mutually  related  and  de¬ 
pendent,  were  arranged  into  a  systematic  whole  under  the 
influence  of  a  common  spirit  so  that  they  lived  and  wor- 

11 7 


n8 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


shiped  together  with  the  greatest  harmony.  The  church 
has  kept  this  ideal  of  fellowship  before  it  continually 
by  thinking  of  itself  throughout  its  history  as  “the  com¬ 
munion  of  saints.” 

As  time  passed,  problems  arose  within  the  brotherhood 
which  called  for  solution.  Moreover,  it  appeared  that  the 
Christian  propaganda  could  be  carried  on  more  effectively 
by  collective  than  by  individual  action.  So  the  fellowship 
became  formally  organized  with  officers  whose  respective 
duties  were  clearly  defined.  The  type  of  organization  seems 
to  have  varied,  in  different  localities,  though  generally  the 
Jewish  synagogue  was  the  model.  And  from  that  day  to 
this  the  organization  has  been  increasing  in  complexity. 

It  is  quite  the  fashion  to  complain  that  organized  Chris¬ 
tianity  has  lost  Christ’s  vision  of  saving  the  world  and 
is  chiefly  concerned  these  latter  days  with  saving  itself.  The 
critics  render  a  valuable  service  in  so  far  as  they  merely 
warn  us  against  the  danger  of  permitting  the  organization 
to  become  an  end  in  itself.  When  they  suggest,  however, 
that  organization  is  inherently  bad,  they  do  violence  to  the 
truth.  There  is  no  important  achievement  in  the  history 
of  the  church  that  would  have  been  possible  to  an  unorgan¬ 
ized  Christianity.  The  critics  should  reflect  upon  the  fu¬ 
tility  of  certain  attempts  to  bring  in  the  Kingdom  which 
discounted  the  importance  of  organization.  The  contrast 
between  the  work  of  George  Whitefield  and  John  Wesley 
is  familiar.  The  former  was  the  greater  preacher,  judged 
by  popular  standards,  and  probably  the  more  winsome  per¬ 
sonality.  But  his  influence  upon  the  English-speaking  world 
was  insignificant  as  compared  with  that  of  the  latter,  who 
organized  his  followers  into  “societies.”  Less  frequently 
is  attention  called  to  the  difference  between  the  Old  Testa¬ 
ment  prophets  and  the  New  Testament  apostles.  They 
matched  each  other  in  zeal  and  religious  passion.  But  the 
former  had  very  little  influence  upon  their  own  generation, 
failing  to  avert  the  calamities  which  they  saw  impending; 
while  the  latter  turned  the  Roman  world  upside  down. 


IMPORTANCE  OF  ORGANIZATION  119 

Humanly  speaking,  this  difference  seems  to  be  due  largely 
to  the  fact  that  the  prophets  were  isolated  voices,  while  the 
apostles,  in  addition  to  preaching,  left  organizations  behind 
them  in  all  the  great  cities  of  their  day. 

One  can  imagine  how  little  headway  individual  Chris¬ 
tians  would  have  made  in  the  task  of  Christianizing  the 
world,  each  attacking  the  evils  of  paganism  in  his  own  way 
without  reference  to  what  any  other  was  doing.  Just  as 
little  as  a  patriotic  young  man  would  make  in  fighting  his 
country’s  enemy  with  impetuous  zeal,  but  refusing  to  join 
an  organized  body  of  soldiers !  He  would  contribute  more 
to  the  cause  he  loved  by  merging  his  identity  with  a  group 
in  which  the  many  act  as  one.  This  principle  holds  to-day. 
We  are  still  fighting  against  great  evils.  There  is  need  of 
assistance  from  every  high-minded  man  and  woman  in 
this  war.  But  we  shall  make  our  blows  more  effective  if 
all  strike  together  rather  than  separately.  We  read  that 
while  one  shall  chase  a  thousand,  two  shall  put  ten  thou¬ 
sand  to  flight.  How?  Obviously  by  careful  cooperation  in 
plan  and  effort.  The  difference  between  ten  and  two  more 
or  less  fairly  represents  the  difference  in  effectiveness  be¬ 
tween  organized  and  unorganized  effort.  And  the  task  of 
a  pastor  is  the  twofold  one  of  (1)  keeping  in  the  church  a 
spirit  of  divine  fellowship,  and  (2)  molding  that  fellowship 
into  an  instrument  by  which  Christ  can  do  his  work  in  the 
world.  The  New  Testament  figure  of  the  church  as  the 
body  of  Christ  expresses  both  ideas — a  form  which  is  filled 
with  his  spirit,  and  which  puts  eyes,  ears,  hands,  feet,  and 
voice  at  his  disposal  that  he  may  coordinate  their  several 
activities  and  so  increase  the  effectiveness  of  each. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  believes  in  organiza¬ 
tion  to  an  unusual  degree  for  a  Protestant  body.  It  has  a 
highly  centralized  form  of  church  government  which  invests 
its  general  officers  with  almost  despotic  power.  Churches 
accept  pastors,  whose  names  they  may  not  know,  merely  on 
the  appointment  of  a  bishop.  Ministers  sometimes  find 
their  pastoral  relations  broken  in  one  place  and  new  ones 


120 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


established  in  another  without  their  permission  being  asked. 
Great  benevolent  boards  are  trusted  with  vast  sums  of 
money  and  their  executive  officers  clothed  with  extraor¬ 
dinary  authority.  In  a  way,  it  appears  to  be  anachronistic — 
“a  church  of  the  people,  yet  so  autocratic !”  But  one  does 
not  create  an  autocracy  by  centralizing  authority  so  long  as 
those  who  possess  power  are  held  to  a  high  degree  of  respon¬ 
sibility!  The  autocrat  is  accountable  to  no  one.  The  agent 
of  a  democratic  society,  say  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  may  for  the  time  being  have  all  the  power  of  a 
Czar,  but  he  is  responsible  to  the  people  who  conferred  the 
power,  and  must  make  an  accounting  every  four  years. 
Similarly  with  the  general  officials  of  the  Methodist  Epis¬ 
copal  Church.  They  possess  extraordinary  power,  but 
their  work  is  subject  to  frequent  review.  Ministers  and 
laymen  trust  them  very  far  for  the  time  being.  But  the  day 
of  accounting  is  always  ahead.  This  keeps  the  church  dem¬ 
ocratic — its  power,  in  fact,  widely  distributed — but  a 
democracy  which  believes  in  collective  effort  and  is  not 
afraid  to  delegate  great  authority  temporarily  to  a  few 
individuals.  In  this  manner  the  church  attains  to  something 
like  the  “efficiency”  of  an  autocratic  organization  without 
sacrificing  real  freedom. 

Organization  is  as  significant  for  the  local  church  as  it  is 
for  the  general  body.  The  pastor  deals  in  the  small  with 
precisely  the  same  problems  that  bishops  and  general  sec¬ 
retaries  face  in  the  large.  Therefore  he  must  learn  to  ap¬ 
proach  them  intelligently.  He  may  not  like  them,  but  they 
are  unavoidable.  He  may  not  withdraw  from  his  prophetic 
office,  but,  in  addition,  he  must  acquire  “the  gift  of  admin¬ 
istration.” 


CHAPTER  XI 


PRINCIPLES  OF  ADMINISTRATION 

The  principles  of  administration  are  the  same  for  the 
church  as  for  any  organized  group,  whether  commercial, 
industrial,  social,  economic,  political,  or  religious.  They 
are  not  arbitrary  ideals  laid  down  by  general  officials,  but 
great  laws  of  life  which  control  human  beings  in  group  re¬ 
lations. 

i.  The  first  is  to  conceive  intelligently  the  proper  fimction 
of  the  organization.  The  pastor  must  ask  himself  con¬ 
tinually,  “What  is  the  whole  business  of  the  church  in  the 
community?”  The  answer  which  he  makes  will  determine 
the  form  of  the  church  organization.  An  organization 
whose  function  it  is  to  make  shoes  will  not  be  identical  in 
every  respect  with  one  whose  business  is  to  wage  war.  One 
whose  aim  is  to  relieve  distress  will  differ  greatly  from 
one  whose  purpose  is  education.  This  principle  is  often 
disregarded  by  those  who  insist  that  the  church  should  be 
“run  on  business  principles.”  If  that  means  only  that  the 
church  should  be  administered  intelligently  in  the  light  of 
the  great  ends  to  be  served,  it  is  good  advice.  But  if  it 
means  that  the  church  is  to  be  run  like  a  bank,  it  is  bad 
counsel  for  the  simple  reason  that  banking  is  not  the  busi¬ 
ness  of  the  church.  The  church  will  have  its  own  methods 
because  it  has  its  own  work. 

Broadly  speaking,  the  ends  toward  which  the  church 
should  move  are  worship,  evangelism,  education,  and 
service.  Necessarily  the  organization  designed  to  serve 
these  ends  will  be  complex.  To  direct  this  work  properly 
the  pastor,  ideally,  should  have  expert  assistance  in  the 
form  of  paid  workers  who  are  specialists  in  their  respective 
fields.  Practically,  however,  most  pastors  must  do  their 
work  with  volunteer  helpers. 

121 


122 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


2.  It  is  important  that  the  members  of  an  organization 
shall  be  imbued  with  loyalty  to  a  common  ideal.  Every  high 
class  organization  is  careful  to  receive  and  retain  in  its 
membership  only  such  persons  as  are  in  sympathy  with 
its  aims  and  methods.  Some  organizations  necessarily  re¬ 
quire  certain  physical  and  mental  qualifications  in  their 
members.  The  church  demands  only  moral  and  spiritual 
fitness.  Do  candidates  for  membership  hate  sin  and  love 
righteousness?  Is  God  a  reality  to  them  and  his  will  their 
highest  law  ?  Do  their  daily  lives  give  evidence  of  these 
desires?  Are  their  religious  beliefs  and  ideals  such  as  to 
make  it  possible  for  them  to  live  and  work  harmoniously 
with  other  members  of  the  church?  The  church  should 
make  its  standards  as  broad  and  few  as  possible,  but  there 
can  be  no  doubt  as  to  its  right  and  obligation  to  guard  its 
membership  against  divisive  and  disintegrating  elements. 

The  “morale”  of  the  church  can  seldom  be  built  up  or 
maintained  by  harsh  disciplinary  measures.  Only  in  the 
rarest  instances  is  it  profitable  to  proceed  against  a  member 
with  formal  charges  and  church  trials  (though  one  should 
not  flinch  if  duty  points  clearly  in  that  direction).  Only  the 
spirit  of  generous,  patient,  intelligent  love  radiated  by  the 
pastor  in  his  life  and  words  will  fuse  together  the  many 
with  diverse  minds  and  tastes  into  a  unified  “communion 
of  saints.”  After  three  years  of  fellowship  with  Jesus  the 
Twelve  sat  down  the  last  night  in  an  irritable  mood,  their 
unity  spoiled  by  distrust  and  jealous  ambition.  To  unite 
different  types  into  a  brotherhood  for  unselfish  service  is 
still  “the  most  stupendous  and  heart-breaking  labor  to 
which  a  minister  of  the  gospel  can  set  himself.”1 

3.  No  good  administrator  ever  dreams  of  doing  himself 
all  the  work  of  his  organization.  The  pastor  who  would 
become  a  competent  manager  of  the  church  organization 
must  depend  upon  the  help  of  assistants.  He  should  not 
do  anything  in  the  way  of  a  minor  task  that  can  be  delegated 
to  others.  Yet  at  this  point  many  pastors  fail  hopelessly. 


Charles  E.  Jefferson,  Building  the  Church,  p.  76. 


PRINCIPLES  OF  ADMINISTRATION  123 


Tasks  are  so  numerous,  competent  lay  workers  are  so  few, 
and  time  is  so  short,  that  the  impulse  is  strong  to  undertake 
everything  oneself,  or  fill  the  important  posts  in  the  church 
with  members  of  one’s  own  family.  Times  without  num¬ 
ber  when  the  pastor  removes  to  another  charge,  the  church 
is  stripped  of  practically  all  its  leadership,  for  he  takes  with 
him  in  the  parsonage  household  the  Sunday  school  super¬ 
intendent,  several  Sunday-school  teachers,  and  the  presi¬ 
dents  of  the  Epworth  League  and  most  of  the  women’s 
organizations.  The  helplessness  of  Methodist  churches  with¬ 
out  pastors  is  almost  proverbial.  This  is  not  creditable  to 
the  type  of  pastoral  oversight  that  has  failed  to  develop  lay 
leadership  prepared  to  carry  on  the  work  in  the  absence  of 
the  pastor. 

Not  only  does  the  pastor  do  the  church  an  injustice  by 
assuming  posts  of  subordinate  leadership,  but  he  renders 
himself  incompetent  to  do  effectively  the  work  which  only 
he  can  do.  The  life  of  bustling  activity  incapacitates  him 
for  the  quiet  study  and  brooding  that  is  indispensable  to 
effective  preaching.  Constant  immersion  in  minor  details 
lessens  his  power  to  see  his  task  as  a  whole  and  to  discrimi¬ 
nate  between  the  primary  and  the  secondary.  The  church 
may  foolishly  applaud  for  the  time  being  the  young  min¬ 
ister  who  acts  as  janitor,  leader  of  the  men’s  class,  Sunday- 
school  superintendent,  scoutmaster,  choir  leader,  as  well  as 
shepherd  and  prophet.  But  in  ten  years  that  restless  ac¬ 
tivity  will  smother  the  spirit  of  prophecy  within  him,  and 
prophets  are  too  rare  to  waste  in  this  fashion.  By  middle 
life  it  will  be  clear  that  it  would  have  been  wiser  to  have 
secured  and  trained  laymen  to  fill  these  lesser  posts  so  that 
he  might  have  had  time  to  keep  his  intellectual  strength  from 
abating  and  his  spiritual  vision  from  growing  dim.  Many  a 
pastor,  who  at  thirty  was  an  energetic  youngster  in  great 
demand,  has  become  a  problem  for  district  superintendents 
and  bishops  by  the  time  he  has  reached  fifty.  In  the  be¬ 
ginning  he  did  his  work  by  a  vast  expenditure  of  physical 
energy.  He  was  always  “on  the  go”  and  was  regarded  as  a 


124 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


“hustler.”  But  in  every  man  the  tides  of  physical  life  begin 
to  run  low  at  forty-five  and  it  is  necessary  then  to  do  by 
mental  and  spiritual  power  what  was  formerly  done  by 
physical.  So  it  comes  to  pass  that  the  pastor  in  middle 
life  who  has  always  been  “too  busy  to  study”  is  in  some  such 
position  as  a  squirrel  might  be  in  midwinter  who  was  too 
busy  in  the  autumn  to  lay  in  a  store  of  nuts.  He  has  no 
resources  to  draw  upon  that  will  get  him  by  the  hard  place. 

The  problem  of  securing  competent  lay  helpers  is  very 
much  more  difficult  for  him  than  for  the  manager  of  a 
business  organization.  He  seeks  volunteer  and  unsalaried 
service.  The  worker  must  find  his  reward  in  the  doing  of 
the  work  itself.  It  is  easy,  however,  to  exaggerate  the  ad¬ 
vantage  which  economic  power  gives  the  entrepreneur  in 
business.  The  successful  manager  is  not  always  cracking 
the  whip  of  authority  over  the  heads  of  his  subordinates. 
Rather  he  makes  the  same  appeal  which  the  pastor  must 
make — helps  men  to  see  that  the  work  in  itself  is  important, 
holds  before  them  constantly  the  ideal  which  he  cherishes 
for  the  enterprise,  creates  a  sense  of  responsibility  by  dele¬ 
gating  authority  to  them,  and  gives  all  consideration  possi¬ 
ble  to  their  opinions.  Even  in  business  the  pocketbook  is 
not  always  the  paramount  consideration,  and  the  best  man¬ 
agers  know  this  full  well.  But  be  this  as  it  may,  the  pastor 
must  prevail  upon  men  and  women  to  assume  posts  of  lead¬ 
ership  in  the  church  without  hope  of  financial  reward.  If 
he  cannot  get  the  persons  he  wants,  he  must  take  the  persons 
he  can  get.  And  he  must  see  to  it  that  they  become  as  ef¬ 
ficient  as  possible  under  the  limitations  which  are  imposed. 
He  will  encourage  them  by  words  of  commendation  when  it 
is  possible  to  do  so.  He  will  offer  helpful  suggestions  as 
to  the  way  in  which  their  work  may  be  made  more  effective. 
He  will  meet  them  frequently  for  private  and  group  confer¬ 
ence.  He  will  put  into  their  hands  the  best  literature  on  their 
respective  tasks.  And  gradually  he  will  build  around  him¬ 
self  a  corps  of  teachers  and  assistant  executives  thoroughly 
imbued  with  his  spirit  and  sharing  his  ideals. 


PRINCIPLES  OF  ADMINISTRATION  125 


Having  once  delegated  authority  to  some  one  for  a  par¬ 
ticular  task,  the  pastor  should  advise  with  that  person  with 
reference  to  all  matters  in  his  department.  For  example, 
he  should  not  go  over  the  head  of  the  choirmaster  in  mu¬ 
sical  matters.  If  some  special  arrangement  seems  desirable, 
the  leader  should  be  requested  to  make  it.  If  the  pastor 
should  make  it  himself  without  consulting  the  leader,  that 
official  would  have  a  right  to  suspect  that  he  was  not  trusted, 
and  would  be  irritated.  If  the  subordinate  will  not  give 
cooperation,  he  should  be  removed,  but  as  long  as  he  is  in 
charge,  he  should  be  consulted. 

4.  It  is  a  weakness  in  much  so-called  “> scientific  manage¬ 
ment”  that  the  administrator  takes  an  impersonal  view  of 
the  human  elements  in  the  organization.  Men  are  regarded 
as  so  many  mechanical  parts  of  a  gigantic  machine  which 
have  no  will  of  their  own  and  act  only  at  the  command  of 
the  master.  It  is  this  treatment  of  men  as  if  they  were 
inanimate  things  that  is  the  chief  cause  of  unrest  in  industry. 
Workers  care  less  about  more  wealth  just  now  than  they 
do  about  more  freedom.  And  the  most  successful  business 
executives  are  devising  means  whereby  employees  may 
make  their  voices  heard  in  the  management  of  affairs. 

If  the  despotic  boss  is  undesirable  in  business,  he  is  im¬ 
possible  in  the  church.  Democracy  in  religion  requires 
that  every  member  of  the  church  shall  have  an  opportunity 
to  express  his  view  on  any  vital  matter  connected  with  the 
life  of  the  church.  It  is  not  enough  that  the  pastor  should 
have  a  policy  or  a  program.  He  is  bound  to  win  the  en¬ 
thusiastic  consent  of  the  church  to  it  so  that  it  shall  be  the 
collective  program  of  the  whole  organization.  There  is 
no  place  in  Methodism  for  the  pastor  who  feels  that  the 
church  must  obey  when  he  speaks  simply  because  he  has 
spoken.  If  the  people  adopt  his  judgment,  it  must  be  be¬ 
cause  it  is  worth  adopting.  He  should  never  be  satisfied 
with  carrying  a  vote  on  any  vital  matter  by  a  narrow  ma¬ 
jority.  Any  notable  changes  in  policy  should  be  made  only 
when  the  judgment  of  the  church  as  a  whole  is  practically 


126 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


unanimous  as  to  its  wisdom.  ‘‘Conference/’  “discussion,” 
“education,”  “respect  for  the  people’s  judgment,”  are  words 
with  which  the  wise  pastor  will  conjure.  By  them  he  will 
move  the  spirit  of  the  congregation  toward  himself  and 
command  the  cooperation  of  their  wills.  And  if  it  be  that 
they  do  not  vote  as  he  desires,  it  is  supreme  folly  for  him 
to  complain  childishly  that  the  people  will  not  follow  his 
leadership.  If  his  was  a  good  cause,  it  can  afford  to  wait 
for  the  hearty  support  of  the  church.  If  it  was  not,  it  should 
have  been  lost. 

In  the  development  of  opinion  favorable  to  any  project,  it 
is  important  to  win  the  approval  of  the  men  of  sober  wis¬ 
dom  in  the  organization  whose  views  carry  great  weight 
with  their  fellow  members.  Every  church  has  one  such  per¬ 
son,  and  some  have  several.  If  a  majority  of  these  will 
not  indorse  the  plan,  action  should  be  deferred  until  such 
a  time  as  their  consent  can  be  won.  To  force  the  issue 
prematurely  may  result  not  only  in  the  defeat  of  the  plan 
but  also  in  arraigning  the  strong  man  against  the  pastor. 
Of  course  we  are  not  suggesting  unmanly  servility,  much 
less  insincere  flattery,  in  the  effort  to  win  others  to  one’s 
way  of  thinking,  but  only  that  Christian  respect  for  the 
opinion  of  others  which  is  always  becoming  in  a  brotherhood 
like  the  church,  and  which  is  essential  in  dealing  with  a 
group  committed  to  democratic  ideals. 

5.  Another  principle  for  which  the  wise  administrator 
must  have  great  regard  is  that  of  properly  coordinating  the 
work  of  the  several  departments  of  his  organization.  It  is 
not  enough  that  an  army  commander  shall  be  courageous 
on  the  field  of  battle.  He  must  correlate  the  work  of  his 
staff  so  that  all  departments  shall  work  together  toward  a 
common  end.  His  army  must  be  fed,  clothed,  and  equipped, 
and  all  at  the  same  time.  If  the  quartermaster’s  depart¬ 
ment  gets  up  the  clothing  and  the  commissary  department 
brings  up  the  provisions,  but  the  ordnance  officers  do  not 
bring  up  the  guns  and  ammunition,  the  army  will  suffer 
defeat  in  spite  of  the  personal  heroism  of  the  general  and 


PRINCIPLES  OF  ADMINISTRATION 


127 


his  men.  The  responsibility  for  the  disaster  must  be 
charged  to  poor  staff  work,  which  in  turn  is  traceable  to 
poor  generalship. 

Similarly  the  wise  pastor  must  correlate  the  work  of  the 
several  departments  of  the  church  so  that  all  will  cooperate 
intelligently  in  working  out  a  common  purpose.  He  should 
endeavor  to  eliminate  all  waste  and  needless  duplication  of 
effort,  and  see  that  no  department  fails  to  function  in  the 
proper  manner.  In  this  connection  attention  is  called  again 
to  the  large  number  of  organizations  in  many  churches  do¬ 
ing  some  form  of  educational  work  regardless  of  whether 
or  not  the  same  work  could  be  done  more  effectively  by  an¬ 
other  group.  For  the  missionary  societies,  the  Ep worth 
League,  and  the  Sunday  school  all  to  offer  mission  study 
courses,  for  example,  is  much  as  if  the  ordnance,  commis¬ 
sary,  and  quartermaster’s  departments  should  all  provide 
the  army  with  shoes.  There  is  an  oversupply  of  one  article 
and  an  undersupply  of  others. 

6.  Every  authority  on  business  administration  regards 
“ system ”  as  uthe  basic  structure  of  organization It  con¬ 
sists  of  a  well  defined  routine  for  controlling  the  methods 
and  processes  of  production.  The  wise  manager,  never¬ 
theless,  understands  that  while  system  is  a  good  servant,  it 
is  a  poor  master.  Impatience  with  “red  tape”  is  thoroughly 
justified  when  system  has  become  so  elaborate  or  is  so  ven¬ 
erated  that  it  retards  the  dispatch  of  business.  Wherever 
it  is  possible,  however,  to  turn  work  over  to  routine  it  will 
be  wise  to  do  so.  The  nervous  system  does  exactly  this 
when  any  form  of  conduct  has  become  habitual,  for  habit 
is  only  another  word  for  system.  Proper  system  in  church 
work  is  as  desirable  as  right  habits  in  religion.  But  it  must 
be  remembered  that  no  hard-and-fast  system  can  be  brought 
in  from  the  business  world  and  applied  directly  to  the  work 
of  the  church.  A  workable  system  must  emerge  naturally 
from  within  the  organization  on  the  basis  of  experience. 
The  work  of  the  church  should  be  done  in  orderly  fashion, 
but  the  particular  order  will  be  its  own. 


128 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


Every  pastor  can  introduce  system  to  advantage — 
a.  In  his  study.  Where  the  pulpit  is  lacking  in  intellectual 
vigor,  desultory  reading  and  bad  habits  of  study  on  the 
part  of  the  minister  are  generally  the  cause.  Too  many 
pastors  have  no  fixed  hours  for  intellectual  work  and  no 
permanent  intellectual  interests  which  control  in  the  selec¬ 
tion  of  books  and  periodicals.  Regular  study  hours  have 
been  jealously  observed  by  all  great  pastors. 

h.  In  pastoral  work.  The  control  of  impulse  is  responsi¬ 
ble  for  inefficiency  in  pastoral  work  quite  as  certainly  as  in 
the  intellectual  work  of  the  study.  Too  many  pastors  call 
only  as  the  mood  for  calling  is  on  them.  This  may  seem 
to  be  justified  by  the  fact  that  to  be  helpful  to  people  in  our 
calling  we  must  be  at  our  best  emotionally  as  well  as  in¬ 
tellectually.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  fatal  to  pastoral  work 
that  it  should  be  wholly  at  the  mercy  of  our  moods. 

c.  In  evangelism.  Inadequate  results  in  the  work  of 
evangelism  are  more  often  than  not  due  to  the  fact  that  the 
minister  does  not  go  about  this  work  systematically.  In 
another  place  particular  programs  of  evangelism  will  be 
mentioned.  For  the  present  it  is  enough  to  say  that  at  the 
beginning  of  each  year  every  pastor  should  plan  his  evan¬ 
gelistic  work  very  definitely  for  the  whole  year.  He  will 
understand  that  the  people  who  are  to  be  won  are  not  peo¬ 
ple  in  general  but  particular  men  and  women  and  boys  and 
girls  whose  names  and  addresses  he  should  have  on  a  con¬ 
stituency  roll  or  card  index.  He  will  know  too  that  these 
people  must  be  won  by  the  people  who  are  already  interested 
in  the  things  of  the  Kingdom,  and  he  will  likewise  make  a 
list  of  those  persons  who  may  reasonably  be  expected  to  do 
personal  work.  He  will  plan  his  special  meetings  both  for 
the  church  and  the  Sunday  school,  and  as  the  time  arrives 
for  particular  services  in  his  calendar  he  will  give  careful 
attention  to  every  duty,  seeing  to  it  in  so  far  as  possible 
that  nothing  is  left  to  chance.  If  this  seems  like  reducing 
the  work  of  soul-winning  to  mechanics,  let  us  remember 
that  God  works  through  the  ordinary  and  the  natural  pow- 


PRINCIPLES  OF  ADMINISTRATION  129 

ers  of  man  quite  as  certainly  as  he  works  through  the  ex¬ 
traordinary  and  the  unusual. 

d.  In  religions  education  and  community  service.  The 
work  of  religious  education  and  community  service  suffers, 
as  does  the  work  of  evangelism,  because  it  is  not  organized 
in  a  systematic  fashion.  Moods  or  impulses  may  render  us 
impotent  here  as  well  as  any  other  where.  It  ought  to  be 
obvious  that  the  educational  work  of  the  church  calls  for 
the  closest  planning  and  the  most  consistent  application  of 
time  and  energy  through  a  long  period.  And  the  church 
can  render  only  inadequate  service  in  solving  community 
problems  if  its  interest  in  those  problems  is  occasional  and 
spasmodic  rather  than  permanent  and  intelligent. 

e.  In  preaching.  As  suggested  above,  no  pastor  is  likely 
to  present  a  comprehensive  teaching  of  Christian  truth  from 
the  pulpit  unless  he  plans  far  in  advance  his  themes  and 
subjects. 

f.  In  church  finance.  Many  a  church,  brought  to  the 
verge  of  bankruptcy  by  lack  of  system  in  financial  methods, 
has  adopted  a  more  intelligent  plan  with  results  that  were 
little  less  than  miraculous.  In  place  of  letting  unpaid  bills 
accumulate  until  the  credit  of  the  church  was  almost  ruined 
and  meeting  these  bills  by  a  frenzied  appeal  to  men  when 
there  happened  to  be  a  good  congregation  assembled  for 
worship,  the  plan  of  intelligently  making  a  budget  of  ex¬ 
pense  for  the  twelve  months  in  advance,  and  informing  the 
congregation  as  to  the  legitimacy  of  the  several  items  in 
this  budget,  and  finally  canvassing  every  member  of  the 
church  for  subscription  to  this  budget,  has  raised  many  a 
church  from  the  dead. 

7.  Modern  administrators,  within  and  without  the 
church,  have  much  to  say  about  “efficiency”  This  is  the 
result  of  an  effort  on  the  part  of  “scientific  management” 
in  industry  to  handle  huge  volumes  of  business  by  standard¬ 
izing,  wherever  possible,  the  processes  of  mass  production 
and  turning  them  over  to  “routine.”  Necessarily  it  is 
highly  mechanical,  reducing  the  demand  for  creative 


130 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


thought  on  the  part  of  the  workers  and  requiring  special 
skill  in  making  a  few  motions  which  soon  become  almost 
instinctive  and  involuntary. 

It  should  be  understood  that  efficiency  in  this  mechanical 
sense  for  church  work  is  neither  desirable  nor  possible. 
Efficiency  in  industry  converts  the  worker  as  certainly  into 
a  machine  as  the  clanging  thing  of  iron  and  steel  which  he 
handles.  And,  surely,  we  do  not  expect  men  to  be  treated 
by  the  church  in  the  impersonal  way  that  they  are  treated 
in  a  mill.  Moreover,  it  is  impossible  to  standardize  very 
extensively  methods  and  processes  in  an  organization  whose 
aim  is  to  develop  certain  moods  and  tempers ,  to  induce  an 
attitude  of  faith  and  good  will  toward  God  and  men.  The 
“efficient  church”  is  the  one  which  finds  a  way  to  produce 
“the  believing  soul.”  This  is  more  largely  a  matter  of  “at¬ 
mosphere”  than  of  technique  or  organization.  It  never  can 
be  said  that  a  specific  number  of  prescribed  actions  will 
always  and  everywhere  produce  this  state  of  belief. 

It  does  not  follow,  however,  that  there  is  no  need  for 
more  intelligence  and  better  practical  judgment  in  doing  the 
work  of  the  church,  which  is  what  we  really  mean  when  we 
demand  “greater  church  efficiency.”  The  pastor  who  en¬ 
ters  his  study  well  past  the  middle  of  the  morning  with  no 
definite  schedule  in  mind  for  the  next  four  or  five  hours, 
spending  a  half  hour  on  the  morning  papers,  an  hour  on 
letters,  followed  by  a  visit  to  the  post  office,  returning  to 
weed  the  garden  or  tinker  the  automobile,  failing  to  get  in 
sixty  minutes  of  conscientious  mental  labor  on  a  worth¬ 
while  book  or  problem  of  thought,  is  wasteful  and  lazy — 
and  that  is  inefficient.  The  Sunday-school  teacher  who 
permits  a  pupil  to  be  absent  two  Sundays  in  succession  with¬ 
out  getting  in  touch  with  him  is  careless  and  indifferent — 
and  that  is  inefficient.  For  two  or  more  organizations  to 
plan  social  affairs  for  the  same  or  successive  evenings  which 
appeal  to  the  same  constituency  for  financial  support  is 
stupid — and  that  is  inefficient.  For  several  societies,  the  Sun¬ 
day  school,  the  Epworth  League,  the  Men’s  Club,  for  ex- 


PRINCIPLES  OF  ADMINISTRATION  131 


ample,  to  attempt  to  do  separately  something  that  could 
be  done  together  better  shows  lack  of  coordination — which 
is  inefficient.  To  organize  a  group  of  women,  girls,  and 
children  first  as  a  Woman’s  Foreign  Missionary  Society, 
King’s  Daughters,  and  Little  Light  Bearers ;  and  then  as 
a  Woman’s  Home  Missionary  Society,  Queen  Esther’s  Cir¬ 
cle,  and  Home  Guards  is  bad  management — and  that  is 
inefficient.  An  official,  whose  duty  requires  that  plain  and 
accurate  records  be  kept  of  business  transacted  or  moneys 
handled,  but  whose  minutes  or  accounts  are  in  disorder  and 
confusion  is  surely  inefficient.  A  church  badly  located  and 
poorly  equipped  for  its  work  when  a  better  site  and  ade¬ 
quate  facilities  are  really  available,  is  inefficient.  More 
precision,  care,  painstaking  conscientiousness,  imagination, 
earnestness,  intelligence — these  can  all  be  introduced  with 
advantage  into  the  work  of  the  church — which  is  all  that 
is  meant  in  suggesting  more  efficiency. 

8.  A  final  principle  which  should  control  a  pastor  of  a 
Methodist  Episcopal  church  is  derived  from  the  federal 
character  of  the  church.  There  is  probably  no  ecclesiasti¬ 
cal  organization  in  the  world,  except  the  Roman  Catholic, 
in  which  the  cohesion  of  its  several  parts  is  so  great.  Its 
bishops  are  all  “general”  superintendents.  In  practice  the 
authority  of  each  may  be  limited  to  a  group  of  Conferences, 
but  in  theory  this  authority  is  church-wide.  Its  ministers 
are  “transferred”  with  the  greatest  ease  from  one  An¬ 
nual  Conference  to  another,  and  the  lay  membership,  while 
localized  and  counted  in  some  particular  church,  as  a  mat¬ 
ter  of  fact  rests  in  the  general  denomination.  This  pro¬ 
duces  a  strong  “connectional”  consciousness,  which  affects 
each  pastor  to  a  notable  degree.  It  obligates  him  to  exalt 
before  his  own  congregation  the  best  in  the  denominational 
tradition,  without  boastfulness  or  unbrotherliness  toward 
other  communions.  Moreover ,  it  requires  from  him  loyalty 
toward  the  general  officers  and  heads  of  the  church  and 
willingness  to  cooperate  in  executing  properly  authorized 
programs .  This  loyalty  does  not  require  that  he  be  servile. 


132 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


He  is  to  think  his  own  thoughts  and  express  his  own  mind 
when  the  time  for  discussion  has  arrived.  But  when  dis¬ 
cussion  has  ceased  and  the  will  of  the  denomination  is  ex¬ 
pressed  in  legislation,  he  has  no  choice  but  to  conform  to 
this  general  will.  If  one  cannot  give  this  loyalty,  he  may 
honorably  withdraw  from  the  ministry  of  the  church,  but 
cannot  honorably  continue  in  it. 

Books  Recommended  for  Further  Study 

Charles  E.  Jefferson,  Building  the  Church. 

Albert  F.  McGarrah,  Modern  Church  Management;  A  Modern 
Church  Program. 

Albert  J.  Lyman,  The  Christian  Pastor  in  the  New  Age. 

Frederick  Lynch,  The  New  Opportunities  of  the  Ministry. 

Shailer  Mathews,  Scientific  Management  in  the  Churches. 

F.  A.  Agar,  Manual  of  Church  Methods. 

William  H.  Leach,  How  to  Make  the  Church  Go. 

R.  W.  Babson,  The  Future  of  the  Churches. 


CHAPTER  XII 


PLANS  OF  ORGANIZATION 

The  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  has  prescribed  a  plan  of  organization  for  the  local 
church.  The  governing  body  is  called  the  ‘‘Quarterly  Con¬ 
ference”1  and  is  composed  of  all  ministers,  local  preachers, 
exhorters,  stewards,  trustees,  class  leaders,  and  deaconesses 
on  the  charge,  together  with  the  chief  executive  officers  of 
the  several  major  organizations  within  the  church  (super¬ 
intendent  of  the  Sunday  school,  president  of  the  Epworth 
League,  presidents  of  the  several  women’s  organizations, 
and  the  directors  of  religious  education  and  social  activities, 
etc.).  This  Conference  usually  meets  from  two  to  four 
times  a  year  under  the  presidency  of  the  district  superin¬ 
tendent.  It  operates  through  numerous  committees,  and  to 
it  the  several  officers,  organizations,  and  committees  report 
at  least  once  a  year. 

The  long  interval  between  meetings  of  the  Quarterly  Con¬ 
ference  makes  it  an  impractical  instrument  for  handling 
business  which  must  receive  regular  and  frequent  attention. 
To  meet  this  defect,  the  Board  of  Stewards  and  the  Board 
of  Trustees  were  separately  organized.  This  gave  rise  to 
a  species  of  dual  control  in  the  church,  for  the  division  of 
labor  agreed  upon  was  that  the  stewards  should  have  charge 
of  “spiritual  matters,”  while  the  trustees  should  give  them¬ 
selves  to  “temporal  affairs.”  The  lack  of  coordination  be¬ 
tween  the  two  bodies  proved  embarrassing,  and  eventually, 
in  many  churches,  one  of  them  came  to  feel  itself  superior 
to  the  other.  To  make  possible  a  return  to  a  more  demo¬ 
cratic  and  unified  control  the  Quarterly  Conference  now 

An  amendment  is  now  pending  proposing  to  change  this  name  to 
“Local  Conference.” 


133 


134 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


may  authorize  the  organization  of  an  “official  board,”  whose 
personnel  is  that  of  the  Quarterly  Conference,  and  which 
largely  does  the  work  both  of  the  stewards  and  trustees. 
Some  states  require  that  the  trustees  must  be  separately 
organized  to  hold  and  transfer  property.  But  for  this  fact, 
in  most  churches  neither  stewards  nor  trustees  would  be 
independently  organized.  The  official  board  meets  regu¬ 
larly  once  each  month,  and  special  meetings  are  held  on 
call  of  the  pastor.  The  pastor  is  presiding  officer,  ex  officio. 
Additional  officials  are  usually  a  vice-president,  secretary, 
treasurer  for  local  budget,  treasurer  of  benevolences,  and 
financial  secretary,  who  generally  fill  corresponding  offices 
in  the  Quarterly  Conference.  The  board  performs  its  work 
through  the  Quarterly  Conference  committees  and  such 
others  as  it  may  decide  to  elect.  Its  minutes  are  approved 
annually  by  the  Quarterly  Conference,  and  thus  its  action 
becomes  Quarterly-Conference  action. 

The  principal  defect  in  this  plan  of  organization  lies  in 
the  large  number  of  standing  committees  through  which 
the  official  board  functions.  The  following  are  elected  in 
every  church  or  charge,  either  by  the  Quarterly  Conference 
or  the  official  board  by  order  of  the  General  Conference: 

1.  Apportioned  Benevolences. 

2.  Christian  Stewardship. 

3.  Foreign  Missions. 

4.  Home  Missions  and  Church  Extension. 

5.  Religious  Instruction. 

6.  Tracts. 

7.  Temperance. 

8.  Education. 

9.  Education  for  Negroes. 

10.  Hospitals. 

11.  Church  Records. 

12.  Auditing  Accounts. 

13.  Parsonage  and  Furniture. 

14.  Church  Music. 

15.  Estimating  Ministerial  Support. 


PLANS  OF  ORGANIZATION 


135 


16.  Examination  Local  Preachers. 

17.  Church  Property. 

18.  Finance. 

In  addition,  authority  is  conferred  to  create  “such  other 
committees  as  may  be  thought  necessary,”  so  that  frequently 
the  list  is  materially  longer. 

It  is  clear  that  many  of  these  committees  are  supposed 
to  represent  the  General  Boards  of  the  denomination  in  the 
local  church,  presumably  informing  the  congregation  con¬ 
cerning  their  work  and  soliciting  funds.  Inasmuch,  how¬ 
ever,  as  this  is  an  important  part  of  the  pastor’s  task,  as¬ 
sisted  by  the  Finance  Committee,  these  committees  almost 
never  function.  Other  committees  are  designed  to  serve 
some  actual  need  in  the  local  church,  but  many  of  them 
function  so  imperfectly  that  duplication,  friction,  waste, 
confusion,  misunderstanding,  general  inefficiency,  and  even 
carelessness  are  written  large  everywhere.  These  con¬ 
siderations  have  caused  some  thoughtful  leaders  to  seek 
a  way  of  coordinating  the  activities  of  the  many  commit¬ 
tees  and  organizations  without  contravening  the  discipline. 

The  suggestion  has  been  made  repeatedly  that  the  pastor 
should  appoint  a  “council”  or  “cabinet”  composed  of  one 
or  more  representatives  from  the  chief  organizations  in  the 
church,  whose  business  should  be  the  unification  of  the 
work  of  the  several  societies.1  “This  cabinet  will  meet 
and  receive  the  program  of  activities  of  each  of  the  several 
organizations,  and  from  these  compile  one  general  program 
of  activities  for  the  whole  church  (which  it  is  well  to  pub¬ 
lish  for  the  general  information  of  the  church  membership), 
or  it  would  be  better  still  if  this  cabinet  should  suggest  to 
all  the  organizations  represented  a  comprehensive  program 
in  which  all  would  have  a  part.”2  The  cabinet,  of  course, 

1So  Fisher  in  The  Way  to  Win;  Cook,  in  A  Working  Program  for 
the  Local  Church,  and  Tippy  and  Kern  in  A  Methodist  Church  and 
Its  Work. 

’Warren  F.  Cook,  A  Working  Program  for  the  Local  Church, 
p.  25. 


136 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


would  be  an  unofficial  body.  It  could  do  nothing  more  than 
advise.  But  it  would  be  a  powerful  agent  in  creating  public 
opinion  in  the  church  which  the  official  board  would  surely 
respect.  If  any  complain  that  such  a  cabinet  is  unauthorized 
by  the  Discipline,  reply  may  be  made,  “Neither  is  the  bish¬ 
op’s  cabinet  at  the  Annual  Conference.’, 

Yet  another  method  of  unification  might  be  to  create  sev¬ 
eral  standing  committees,  in  addition  to  the  cabinet,  to 
supervise  the  great  essential  tasks  of  the  church.  These 
are:  (1)  Worship,  (2)  Evangelism,  (3)  Religious  Educa¬ 
tion,  (4)  Service,  (5)  Finance.  The  work  of  these  com¬ 
mittees  would  be  to  correlate  and  supervise  the  activities 
of  all  agencies  at  work  in  their  respective  fields.  Each  com¬ 
mittee  would  report  directly  to  the  official  board,  or  to  the 
cabinet,  which,  in  turn,  would  unify  the  programs  of  the 
several  standing  committees  before  reporting  to  the  board. 
These  committees  could  he  ordered  under  existing  authority 
to  create  “such  other  committees  as  may  be  thought  neces¬ 
sary .”3  They  might  be  composed,  in  part  at  least,  of  the 
membership  of  committees  and  organizations  which  they  re¬ 
spectively  supervise.  For  example,  the  “Committee  on  Wor¬ 
ship”  would  absorb  the  committees  on  “Music”  and  “Pul¬ 
pit  Supply,”  and  might  include  representatives  from  the 
Epworth  League  and  Sunday  school.  The  pastor  should 
be  a  member  ex  officio  of  all  such  standing  committees,  pos¬ 
sibly  the  chairman  of  each. 

Books  Recommended  for  Further  Study 

Fred  B.  Fisher,  The  Way  to  Win. 

Albert  F.  McGarrah,  Modern  Church  Management. 

Warren  F.  Cook,  A  Working  Program  for  the  Local  Church. 

Tippy  and  Kern,  A  Methodist  Church  and  Its  Work. 

Discipline,  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  1920. 


*See  Discipline  (1920),  112:  2. 


Diagram  of  Proposed  Plan  of  Organization  Through  Committees  and  Pastor’s  Cabinet 


PLANS  OF  ORGANIZATION 


137 


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■The  Pastor  is  a  member  ex  officio  of  all  Committees 


CHAPTER  XIII 


THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  WORSHIP 

The  present  chapter  will  deal  briefly  with  the  subject  of 
worship  from  the  general  point  of  view  of  the  administra¬ 
tor  rather  than  the  specific  point  of  view  of  the  liturgist, 
which  was  presented  in  the  first  section  of  this  book. 

1.  The  Standing  Committee  on  Worship  should  be  com¬ 
posed  of  not  more  than  six  besides  the  pastor.  These  might 
well  be  the  chairman  of  the  Music  Committee,  the  chairman 
of  the  Pulpit  Supply  Committee,  the  organist,  the  choir¬ 
master,  the  Sunday-school  superintendent,  and  the  presi¬ 
dent  of  the  Epworth  League.  The  scope  of  their  activities 
would  include  all  that  has  to  do  with  the  enrichment  of 
public  worship  in  the  church  service,  the  Sunday  school,  and 
the  Epworth  League.  Their  judgment  should  be  secured 
before  new  hymnals  and  songbooks  are  purchased,  and 
before  singers,  organists,  and  directors  of  music  are  em¬ 
ployed.  They  should  make,  from  time  to  time,  constructive 
criticism  to  the  official  board  looking  toward  the  improve¬ 
ment  of  the  worship  of  all  organizations  in  the  church. 
Moreover,  they  should,  by  every  means  in  their  power, 
encourage  private  and  family  prayer  throughout  the  mem¬ 
bership  of  the  church.  They  should  cooperate  with  the 
Epworth  League  in  promoting  the  “Morning- Watch”  idea 
and  recommend  worthy  books  of  devotion  for  individuals 
and  manuals  for  domestic  worship. 

2.  The  committee  might  request  the  pastor  to  use  a  whole 
service  occasionally  for  instructing  the  congregation  in  the 
ideals  and  principles  of  public  worship  as  set  forth  in  the 
first  section  of  this  book.  The  disorder  that  mars  much 
free  worship  is  not  due  to  conscious  irreverence,  but  to  the 
unhappy  fact  that  many  people  have  never  been  taught  to 
worship.  They  have  gone  to  church  all  their  lives  “to  hear 

138 


WORSHIP 


139 


the  sermon/’  and  have  not  understood  that  they  were  them¬ 
selves  expected  to  make  a  contribution  to  common  prayer. 
This  instruction  should  be  given  as  early  in  the  life  of  the 
child  as  possible.  But  it  will  be  helpful,  too,  to  instruct  the 
adults  in  the  public  congregation  if  they  are  unenlightened 
concerning  ideals  of  worship.  One  of  the  notable  mem¬ 
ories  in  the  life  of  a  certain  minister  has  to  do  with  a  Sunday 
morning  when  he  took  the  congregation  into  his  confidence, 
showing  how  important  were  the  contributions  of  the  con¬ 
gregation  itself,  the  choir,  the  ushers,  and  the  janitor  as 
well  as  that  of  the  minister  to  common  prayer. 

The  best  opportunity  for  teaching  social  worship  in  the 
average  church  is  to  be  found  in  the  Sunday  school.  A  few 
superintendents  understand  that  the  introductory  service  is 
not  merely  a  mechanical  way  of  beginning  the  work  of  the 
school.  But  not  many.  The  average  Sunday-school  or¬ 
chestra  may  serve  some  useful  purpose  in  holding  the  in¬ 
terest  of  the  players  to  the  school,  but  it  seldom  induces  the 
worshipful  mood.  Noise,  “pep,”  “jazz” — sometimes  be¬ 
cause  it  pleases  the  leader,  and  sometimes  because  it  is  sup¬ 
posed  to  have  a  disciplinary  value  on  restless  pupils — con¬ 
stitute  the  ideal  of  many  superintendents  for  the  “opening 
exercises.”  It  should  be  a  vital  part  of  all  true  religious 
education  to  teach  boys  and  girls  to  worship.  The  time  to 
do  this  is  in  the  early  part  of  the  service.  “To  bring  each 
person  in  attendance  into  the  conscious  presence  of  God 
for  a  few  moments  every  Sunday  is  one  of  the  splendid 
privileges  presented  to  officers  and  teachers  of  the  school.”1 

3.  Every  consideration  which  can  he  urged  in  behalf  of 
graded  instruction  in  the  church  school  may  he  urged  like¬ 
wise  in  behalf  of  graded  worship.  The  absence  of  children 
from  public  worship  is  generally  remarked  upon  with  regret. 
Can  it  be  expected,  however,  that  active  young  human  be¬ 
ings  will  enjoy  sitting  for  an  hour  or  more  through  a  service 
that  was  never  designed  to  meet  a  need  of  which  they  are 


Wan  Oosterzee,  op.  cit.,  p.  445. 


140 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


conscious?  Everything  is  arranged  for  the  adult  section 
of  the  congregation — hymns,  prayers,  anthems,  and  sermon, 
all  beyond  the  understanding  of  boys  and  girls.  Have  we 
any  moral  right  to  insist  upon  or  expect  the  children  to 
attend  public  worship  unless  the  service  is  adapted  to  their 
needs  ?  They  are  not  “little  men  and  women,”  as  we  some¬ 
times  declare.  They  differ  from  adults  as  radically  in  men¬ 
tal  and  spiritual  matters  as  in  physical.  They  are  sui  gen¬ 
eris.  Adult  religion  no  more  fits  them  than  do  adult  clothes. 
Forms  and  methods  of  worship  must  be  designed  to  meet 
their  peculiar  spiritual  needs.  They  must  be  trained  to 
worship.  But  they  will  never  learn  to  worship  by  simply 
looking  on  while  older  people  worship.  Opportunity  must 
be  given  them  to  express  directly  their  own  feelings,  as  is 
not  and  cannot  be  done  in  the  ordinary  service  of  worship. 
Respect  for  personality  will  eventually  compel  us  to  concede 
the  principle  of  graded  worship  and  provide  such  oppor¬ 
tunities  for  the  expression  and  development  of  the  child’s 
faith  as  are  adapted  to  his  several  stages  of  growth. 

Many  pastors  are  experimenting  with  the  “Children’s 
Church” — an  organization  modeled  after  the  ordinary 
church,  but  composed  entirely  of  children,  transacting  its 
own  business  and  conducting  its  own  services  of  worship, 
often  at  the  hour  when  the  adults  are  met  for  formal  wor¬ 
ship.  The  success  of  this  experiment  always  depends,  of 
course,  on  the  personality  of  the  adult  leader  who  is  in 
charge.  Others  are  attempting  to  convert  the  “Opening 
Exercises”  of  the  Sunday  school  into  “Junior  Worship.” 
Where  the  several  departments  of  the  Sunday  school  are  in¬ 
dependently  organized  and  meet  in  separate  rooms  it  is  easily 
possible  to  have  worship  adapted  to  the  ages  which  are  found 
in  each  group.  Still  others  bring  the  Sunday-school  children 
into  the  public  worship  of  the  church  and  introduce  elements 
into  that  service,  such  as  a  children’s  song  and  a  short  chil¬ 
dren’s  sermon,  which  will  appeal  especially  to  them,  dismiss¬ 
ing  them  before  the  moment  has  arrived  for  the  usual  ser¬ 
mon.  Each  of  these  methods  has  something  to  commend  it. 


WORSHIP 


141 

4.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  cause  of  social  worship  is 
greatly  served  by  having  the  place  of  worship  kept  sacred 
for  that  particular  purpose.  It  is  true  that  play  may  be  as 
legitimate  as  prayer.  Nevertheless  many  find  it  difficult  to 
enter  into  a  worshipful  frame  of  mind  in  a  room  which  is 
open  to  all  causes.  A  minstrel  show  in  a  church  is  incon¬ 
gruous,  but  not  much  more  so  than  many  other  things  that 
are  admitted.  If  there  is  but  one  room  for  all  purposes, 
of  course  one  must  do  the  best  he  can.  But  when  it  is 
possible  to  arrange  for  concerts,  lectures,  plays,  etc.,  in  some 
other  than  the  room  used  for  public  worship,  let  it  be  done 
by  all  means. 

Books  Recommended  for  Further  Study 

Hugh  Hartshorne,  Worship  in  the  Sunday  School. 

Weldon  F.  Crossland,  The  Junior  Church  in  Action. 

Charles  E.  McKinley,  Educational  Evangelism. 


CHAPTER  XIV 


THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  EVANGELISM 

1.  The  Standing  Committee  on  Evangelism  should 
be  composed  of  representatives  of  all  the  organizations 
which  attempt  definite  evangelistic  work  in  the  local  church, 
together  with  the  pastor  and  one  or  two  members  of  the 
official  board.  The  committee  will  supervise  and  coordinate 
the  evangelistic  work  of  the  several  organizations.  Not 
later  than  October  first  it  should  present  a  unified  program 
of  evangelism  for  the  succeeding  twelve  months. 

2.  Principles  of  Evangelism.  There  is  no  single  term 
that  will  more  accurately  describe  the  total  task  of  the 
church  than  the  word  “evangelism,”  provided  it  be  in¬ 
terpreted  broadly.  In  specifying  the  principles  of  evan¬ 
gelism  we  are  only  trying  to  define  the  idea  in  such  a  way 
as  to  include  its  larger  meanings. 

a.  Evangelism  is  not  primarily  a  matter  of  delivering  the 
Christian  message,  as  w^as  represented  in  a  widely  circulated 
book  some  years  ago  called  The  Evangelization  of  the  World 
in  this  Generation.  Dr.  John  R.  Mott,  the  author  of  this  help¬ 
ful  volume,  distinctly  affirmed  that  by  “evangelization”  he 
did  not  mean  the  conversion  of  the  world,  but  merely  such 
a  general  proclamation  of  the  gospel  that  every  person  in 
the  world  should  have  the  opportunity  to  hear  of  Christ 
and  so  to  accept  him.  Knowledge  of  Christ  must  precede 
devotion  to  him,  but  there  must  be  no  complacency  over 
having  proclaimed  his  gospel  in  a  professional  fashion. 
To  be  saved  is  not  identical  with  thinking,  or  acting,  or 
feeling  a  certain  way.  In  its  highest  sense  it  means  con¬ 
scious  fellowship  between  a  man  and  the  Infinite  God.  To 
prevail  upon  others  to  establish  that  fellowship  it  is  neces¬ 
sary  to  live  sacrificially  as  well  as  to  speak  eloquently  and 
informingly. 


142 


EVANGELISM 


143 


b.  Evangelism  must  be  adequate  in  its  motive .  Some 
years  ago  a  young  minister  at  a  camp  meeting,  in  concluding 
a  hearty  sermon,  invited  any  who  would  to  confess  publicly 
their  discipleship.  He  had  failed  to  note  that  few,  if  any, 
of  those  present  were  irreligious,  and  acted  as  though  a 
considerable  number  were  well  outside  the  Kingdom.  His 
invitation  was  earnest  but  perfunctory,  and  evoked  no  re¬ 
sponse.  Nevertheless,  he  turned  from  section  to  section 
until  he  had  completed  the  semicircle  of  pews ;  then,  but¬ 
toning  his  coat  about  him,  exclaimed,  “Well,  I  have  de¬ 
livered  my  soul !”  That  statement  revealed  the  motive 
which  impelled  him  in  his  evangelistic  work.  Conscious  of 
a  certain  duty,  he  wrent  through  what  he  conceived  to  be  the 
appropriate  motions,  but  with  as  much  real  enthusiasm  as 
Jonah  manifested  in  going  to  Nineveh.  Not  to  save  our 
own  souls,  not  to  add  a  certain  number  to  the  church,  but 
the  feeling  that  men  are  miserable,  and  poor,  and  blind,  and 
naked  if  they  do  not  walk  in  fellowship  with  God  consti¬ 
tutes  a  motive  really  adequate  for  the  work  of  evangelism. 

c.  Evangelism  must  not  be  identified  exclusively  with 
exceptional  and  irregular  methods  of  work.  To  many 
minds  the  term  suggests  only  revivalism  of  the  type  so  pop¬ 
ular  in  recent  years.  Revivalism  is,  indeed,  one  highly  ac¬ 
credited  method  of  doing  the  work  of  evangelism.  But  a 
wise  evangelist  will  not  limit  himself  to  a  single  method 
or  time  if  there  are  other  agencies  and  occasions  that  may 
be  utilized  to  advantage.  To  regard  the  “special  meeting” 
and  the  “special  man”  (the  professional  evangelist)  as  the 
instruments  par  excellence  for  redeeming  life,  expecting 
little  or  nothing  from  the  “regular  services”  and  the  cus¬ 
tomary  ministrations  of  the  pastor,  is  to  fall  into  the  error 
of  believing  that  God  is  in  the  irregular  in  a  way  that  he 
is  not  in  the  ordinary  and  the  commonplace.  It  is  beyond 
all  question  true  that  God  has  worked  through  “the  re¬ 
vival”  in  a  notable  way.  But  he  does  not  come  to  men 
exclusively  through  that  channel.  If  one  can  have  a  re¬ 
vival,  let  him  have  it  by  all  means!  But  do  not  be  cast 


144 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


down  if  this  is  impossible.  The  primary  matter  is  to  do 
the  work  of  evangelism,  if  not  by  one  method,  then  by  an¬ 
other.  If  one  cannot  utilize  the  revival,  then  try  personal 
evangelism  and  religious  education.  The  slower  process 
may  be  less  spectacular  but  is  equally  effective — indeed, 
it  is  the  only  one  that  will  be  effective  in  dealing  with  cer¬ 
tain  groups. 

d.  The  scope  of  evangelistic  endeavor  should  not  he  lim¬ 
ited  to  a  single  phase  of  the  evangelistic  task.  The  program 
of  evangelism  will  include  all  persons  and  classes  that  are 
in  need  of  the  spirit  of  God,  and  will  have  to  do  with  the 
whole  range  of  Christian  experience. 

(1 )  Evangelism  will  concern  itself  with  young  people  and 
children.  Here  the  problem  will  be  rather  preventing  the 
contagion  of  sin  than  curing  the  disease  after  it  has  been 
contracted,  applying  the  prophylactic  rather  than  the  thera¬ 
peutic  power  of  the  gospel.  In  the  nature  of  the  case  the 
revival  method  is  not  very  valuable  in  this  type  of  evan¬ 
gelism.  Opportunity  must  be  made,  of  course,  for  the  child 
to  come  definitely  to  spiritual  consciousness,  choosing  for 
himself  to  follow  Christ.  And  in  the  sense  that  such  a 
decision  should  be  made  publicly,  the  revival  meeting,  fre¬ 
quently  called  “Decision  Day,”  in  the  Sunday  school  will 
be  helpful.  But  even  so,  it  will  only  supplement  the  better 
method  of  educational  evangelism  by  which  in  the  home 
and  church,  ideally  at  least,  an  atmosphere  quickeningly 
religious  has  been  created  in  which  through  months  and 
years  of  training  and  oversight  the  decision  made  in  the 
evangelistic  meeting  has  been  slowly  ripening.  In  dealing 
with  young  life,  the  matter  cannot  be  concluded  once  and 
for  all.  There  must  be  the  most  careful  instruction  and 
nurture  if  the  plant  is  to  grow  straight  and  strong  to  full 
maturity.  Religious  education  rather  than  the  revival  will 
be  our  best  reliance  here. 

(2)  But  the  work  of  evangelism  must  he  directed  toward 
adult  as  well  as  child  life.  It  has  been  said  conversions 
rarely  occur  after  the  age  of  twenty,  and  that  the  great 


EVANGELISM 


145 


opportunity  for  recruiting  the  membership  of  the  church  is 
to  be  found  among  the  young  rather  than  the  older  people. 
This  emphasis  has  had  an  unfortunate  effect  in  so  far  as  it 
has  made  the  church  hopeless  concerning  the  spiritual  re¬ 
demption  of  adult  life.  The  gospel  yet  possesses  curative 
as  well  as  preventive  value.  The  novelists,  the  poets,  and 
the  dramatists  are  ever  asserting  the  fact  of  spiritual  re¬ 
newal  for  life  that  has  become  brutalized.1  This  is  not  an 
appropriate  time,  then,  for  the  church  to  surrender  its  faith 
in  the  “recoverability  of  human  nature  at  its  worst.”  We 
must  seek  to  save  lost  men  and  women  as  well  as  to  keep 
boys  and  girls  from  becoming  lost.  No  pastor  is  discharg¬ 
ing  his  full  duty  unless  he  includes  both  these  classes  in  the 
scope  of  his  evangelism.  The  revival  method  is  more  help¬ 
ful  in  work  with  adults  than  in  dealing  with  young  people. 
But  in  most  instances  even  here  it  must  be  supplemented  by 
diligent  personal  evangelism  and  intelligent  religious  edu¬ 
cation. 

(3)  Evangelism  has  to  do  with  the  whole  range  of  Chris¬ 
tian  experience— with  later  stages  as  well  as  with  the  be¬ 
ginnings  of  Christian  living.  It  is  here  that  the  revival 
meeting  seems  to  render  its  largest  service  to-day — as  an 
occasion  for  interpreting  to  people  already  religious  in  at 
least  a  formal  sense  the  deeper  significance  of  faith  and 
trust  in  God.  Few  “outsiders”  attend  such  meetings.  Even 
the  great  tabernacle  meetings  in  American  cities  attract 
chiefly  persons  who  are  already  members  of  churches.  In¬ 
stead  of  complaining  that  this  is  so,  one  should  seize  gladly 
the  opportunity  to  enrich  and  stabilize  the  faith  of  these 
believing  ones  by  setting  forth  the  doctrines  of  assurance, 
regeneration,  and  sanctification  in  wholesome  terms  and 
endeavoring  to  lead  them  into  the  reality  for  which  these 
great  words  stand.  What  a  pity  that  few  except  unre- 
flective  extremists  are  saying  anything  to  the  modern 
church  about  these  vital  matters!  For  this  reason,  if  for 

Tor  example,  Tolstoy’s  Resurrection  and  Masefield’s  Everlasting 
Mercy. 


146 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


no  other,  special  meetings  should  be  held  in  every  church 
every  year. 

(4)  Evangelism  must  concern  itself  with  the  collective  as 
well  as  the  individual  life  of  men.  It  must  seek  to  accom¬ 
plish  a  social  as  well  as  a  personal  redemption.  This  means 
specifically  that  the  principles  of  Christian  ethics  must  be 
recognized  as  binding  upon  groups  as  well  as  individuals, 
and  that  the  divorce  between  morality,  on  the  one  hand, 
and  business,  industry,  politics,  and  diplomacy  on  the  other, 
shall  be  done  away.  The  fact  of  current  ethical  dualism 
can  hardly  be  denied.  We  have  one  standard  of  action  for 
some  relationships  and  another  for  others.  Toward  his 
own  wife  and  children,  a  man  will  act  generously  and  un¬ 
selfishly  as  though  nothing  were  of  consequence  but  the 
great  human  values,  never  once  thinking  of  exploiting  them 
economically.  But  the  same  man,  scarcely  aware  of  what 
he  does,  may  deliberately  act  according  to  very  different 
principles  toward  other  men’s  wives  and  children  who  work 
for  him.  These  have  precisely  the  same  fundamental  right 
to  human  consideration  as  his  family — yet  he  regards  their 
welfare  and  happiness  as  distinctly  subordinate  to  his  own 
personal  profit.  We  have  been  told  that  religion  cannot 
be  mixed  with  business  or  politics.  That  only  means  that 
Christian  principles  of  action  cannot  be  applied  to  these 
matters.  The  object  of  social  evangelism  is  to  extend  the 
authority  of  Christian  ethics  over  all  relationships,  and 
exalt  the  same  standard  for  public  and  social  conduct  as 
admittedly  controls  for  private  and  individual  action.  It 
is  primarily  a  problem  in  regeneration — to  transform  the 
spirit  of  our  collective  life  until  it  may  be  said  that  Christ 
dwells  in  the  heart  of  the  group  as  well  as  in  the  heart  of 
the  individual. 

It  is  obvious  that  evangelism  of  this  kind  must  employ 
the  educational  method.  The  ideal  must  be  taught,  pa¬ 
tiently,  kindly,  but  consistently,  throughout  the  whole  year, 
by  every  teaching  agency  in  the  church — the  pulpit,  the 
Sunday-school  class,  and  the  brotherhood  organization,  etc., 


EVANGELISM 


147 


not  to  the  exclusion  of  other  important  matters,  but  ac¬ 
cording  to  its  proper  desert. 

e.  Evangelism  must  not  be  set  over  against  religious  edu¬ 
cation ,  or  social  service,  or  scholarship  in  a  false  antithesis 
as  though  inherently  antagonistic  to  them.  Let  it  be  said 
again  that  these  are  as  certainly  instruments  for  doing  the 
work  of  evangelism  as  is  the  revival.  The  aim  of  all  true 
religious  education  is  not  primarily  to  impart  instruction 
but  to  produce  the  believing  soul.  The  purpose  of  all  true 
social  service  is  to  create  an  environment  in  which  it  will 
be  easier  to  be  good,  an  atmosphere  more  congenial  to 
spirituality.  The  end  of  true  scholarship  is  that  the  work¬ 
man  may  be  better  furnished  for  his  task  of  saving  men — 
not  that  he  may  be  excused  from  it. 

3.  The  Methods  of  Evangelism.  Wise  pastors  are 
using  three  agencies  simultaneously  to  win  men  to  Christ. 

a.  The  Revival.  The  features  of  the  typical  “revival 
meeting”  are  familiar  to  anyone  who  is  identified  with  the 
work  of  the  church. 

(1)  The  time  of  the  meetings  should  be  adjusted  to  the 
convenience  of  the  largest  number  in  the  congregation.  In 
rural  sections  midwinter  usually  is  opportune.  In  towns 
and  cities  the  fall  or  the  spring  may  be  as  suitable  as  the 
winter.  Increasingly  Protestant  churches  are  taking  advan¬ 
tage  of  the  Lenten  season  for  special  meetings.  This  cus¬ 
tom  has  much  to  commend  it.  Such  services  seldom  con¬ 
tinue  more  than  three  weeks,  and  often  no  more  than  two. 
Palm  Sunday,  immediately  preceding  Easter,  is  usually 
set  apart  for  Decision  Day  exercises  in  the  Sunday  school. 
Easter  is  In-Gathering  Day  when  members  are  received  into 
the  church. 

(2)  The  aim  of  the  revival  meetings,  as  stated  above, 
should  be  kept  clearly  in  mind.  They  are  not  the  only,  or 
even  the  chief  agency,  for  recruiting  the  membership  of  the 
church.  Probably  their  greatest  value  lies  in  providing  an 
opportunity  for  emphasizing  daily  for  a  period  the  deeper 
aspects  of  religious  experience  to  the  membership  of  the 


148 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


church,  as  we  have  already  seen.  Any  pastor  will  have 
had  a  very  “successful  meeting”  if  he  is  able  to  secure  the 
attendance  of  a  great  majority  of  his  congregation  at  these 
services  and  awakens  in  them  a  desire  for  reality  in  religion. 
To  this  end  he  is  warranted  in  asking  certain  classes  and  or¬ 
ganizations  to  attend  in  a  body  on  certain  nights,  and  using 
other  legitimate  methods  to  stimulate  interest  on  the  part 
of  the  people  already  connected  with  the  church.  The 
quickest  way  to  win  the  unchurched  is  to  make  the  church 
membership  dynamic.  On  the  other  hand  one  certainly 
should  use  the  special  meetings  for  anything  they  will  do 
in  reaching  persons  not  identified  with  the  church.  Always 
in  the  Sunday  school,  the  Ladies’  Aid  Society,  the  Brother¬ 
hood,  and  other  organizations,  there  are  some  who  while 
sympathetic  have  never  actually  taken  the  vows  of  a  Chris¬ 
tian.  These  should  be  the  special  objects  of  prayerful  en¬ 
deavor  during  the  meetings. 

(3)  The  preaching  is  always  an  important  element  in 
special  meetings.  Frequently  the  pastor  feels  that  he  cannot 
do  all  the  other  things  that  must  be  done — particularly  the 
personal  work — and  preach  each  evening  in  addition.  It 
may  appear  that  a  good  solution  of  his  problem  will  be  to 
employ  a  professional  evangelist.  Without  reflecting  upon 
this  class  of  workers,  one  may  offer  a  word  of  caution 
against  their  frequent  use  in  the  church.  They  are  exceed¬ 
ingly  costly.  The  same  amount  of  money  could  be  spent  in 
other  ways  to  greater  profit.  They  emphasize  the  extraor¬ 
dinary  and  the  spectacular  until  the  church  tends  to  forget 
that  God  may  come  in  quieter  fashion  and  through  less  novel 
means.  Often  they  are  champions  of  extravagant  doctrines 
which  create  trouble  for  the  church  after  the  evangelist  has 
gone.  And  almost  never  do  they  possess  social  vision.  A 
much  safer  plan  every  way,  and  generally  quite  as  helpful 
in  the  long  run,  is  to  invite  a  brother  pastor  to  assist  one, 
offering  one’s  own  service  in  exchange  at  another  time.  In 
this  way  the  church  secures  as  good  preaching  as  it  would 
get  from  an  evangelist,  and  that  from  one  who  has  the 


EVANGELISM 


149 


pastor's  point  of  view.  The  meeting  may  be  less  spectacu¬ 
lar,  but  the  quality  of  work  is  likely  to  be  finer.  This  will 
release  the  pastor  himself  for  that  indefatigable  calling  and 
earnest  personal  work  without  which  no  meeting  can 
succeed. 

(4)  The  music  should  have  careful  consideration.  It  may 
be  well  to  employ  a  competent  person  to  take  charge  of  the 
singing.  A  good  chorus  may  be  organized.  The  better 
type  of  gospel  song  is  generally  preferred  to  the  church 
hymn  for  congregational  use  in  such  services. 

(5)  Preparation  for  the  meetings  is  exceedingly  important. 
Revivals  have  never  broken  out  magically.  Some  one,  con¬ 
sciously  or  unconsciously,  has  always  made  earnest  and  in¬ 
telligent  preparation  for  them.  Cottage  prayer  meetings 
are  usually  helpful,  provided  the  leadership  is  competent 
and  the  idea  of  the  meetings  is  kept  to  the  fore.  The  mem¬ 
bership  of  the  church  should  be  urged  to  prepare  personal 
prayer  lists  and  undertake  such  personal  work  as  they  may 
feel  impelled  to  do.  At  this  time  the  organization  for  per¬ 
sonal  evangelism,  to  be  described  later,  should  be  in  perfect 
condition.  The  several  societies  of  the  church  should  be 
asked  to  lay  aside  all  activities  during  the  meetings  which 
would  prevent  their  members  from  attending  the  services. 
The  object  in  all  this  is  to  induce  a  prayerful  and  expectant 
mood  upon  the  church. 

The  pastor  himself  will  find  it  especially  helpful  to  read, 
in  the  weeks  preceding  the  meetings,  the  biographies  of  great 
evangelists,  together  with  descriptive  volumes  on  the  subject 
of  the  revival.  These  will  be  very  suggestive  as  to  methods 
and  his  heart  will  be  warmed  to  the  task.  Let  him  be  as^ 
sured  that  he  will  need  all  the  enthusiasm  he  can  muster, 
for  a  revival  calls  for  an  enormous  expenditure  of  energy 
on  his  part.  The  fire  must  begin  in  his  own  heart  before  it 
spreads  to  the  congregation.  They  will  look  to  him  for  lead¬ 
ership  in  all  things.  However  much  personal  work  he  may 
prevail  upon  others  to  do,  he  must  do  more  than  they  all. 
A  series  of  special  meetings,  however,  that  succeeds  in 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


150 

deepening  the  religious  life  of  the  church  membership  is 
worth  the  cost  and  remains  a  very  precious  memory. 

(6)  Union  Meetings.  In  recent  years  a  union  meeting  of 
all  the  churches  in  the  community  in  some  central  place, 
frequently  a  temporary  tabernacle  erected  for  the  purpose, 
has  become  familiar  in  all  parts  of  the  country.  Such  a 
meeting  doubtless  does  some  good.  But  experience  is  mak¬ 
ing  the  church  critical  of  this  method  of  evangelism.  It 
does  assemble  great  numbers  of  people  for  religious  pur¬ 
poses  and  bring  together  the  several  denominations,  coop¬ 
eratively  engaging  in  the  performance  of  a  common  task. 
And  possibly  it  touches  an  occasional  person  who  will  not 
go  to  church.  But  the  tabernacle  meeting  does  not  culti¬ 
vate  the  church-going  habit,  as  Professor  Hannan  suggests 
in  his  excellent  chapter  on  this  subject.2  Moreover,  the 
work  in  such  crowds  must  be  impersonal  and  superficial  to 
a  high  degree.  Very  frequently  it  appears  that  false  names 
and  addresses  are  registered  on  the  declaration  blanks ;  that 
the  great  majority,  some  say  ninety  per  cent,  of  the  audi¬ 
ences  are  composed  of  Christian  people ;  that  the  statistics 
employed  for  advertising  purposes  are  generally  misleading, 
five  hundred  cards,  for  example,  being  reported  as  five  hun¬ 
dred  conversions,  whereas  four  hundred  of  them  may  repre¬ 
sent  people  already  members  of  churches ;  that  the  manner 
in  which  the  alleged  “free-will  offerings”  are  worked  up  is 
very  disillusionizing  for  those  on  the  inside  of  the  organ¬ 
ization.  It  is  generally  required  that  the  cooperating 
churches  suspend  their  regular  activities  for  the  period  of 
the  meeting.  The  resulting  demoralization  is  too  big  a 
price  to  pay  for  the  good  accomplished.  Better  than  one 
“Big  Meeting”  are  meetings  held  simultaneously  in  all 
churches.  Beyond  all  question  the  aggregate  results  usually 
are  much  greater.  If  a  union  meeting  be  desired  let  it  be 
one  conducted  by  the  several  pastors  who  take  their  turns 
at  preaching,  and  who  collectively  retain  authority  over 
the  service. 


2F.  Watson  Hannan,  Evangelism,  p.  ioof. 


EVANGELISM 


151 

b.  Personal  Evangelism.  A  second  method  of  evangelism, 
and  an  indispensable  aid  to  successful  revivalism,  is  per¬ 
sonal  evangelism.  Moreover,  it  is  a  method  whereby  evan¬ 
gelism  may  be  made  continuous  throughout  the  year,  bring¬ 
ing  some  people  into  Christian  fellowship  each  month. 
Many  pastors  who  have  no  conspicuous  success  as  revival¬ 
ists  are  very  successful  in  the  more  quiet  and  sustained  work 
of  personal  evangelism. 

The  name  is  highly  fitting.  Religion  in  the  Christian 
sense  is  the  establishment  and  deepening  of  fellowship  be¬ 
tween  two  persons — a  man  and  God.  Personal  evangelism 
ideally  means  one  person  introducing  another  person  to  the 
Infinite  Person.  And  that  can  be  done  every  week  in  the 
year,  not  only  in  the  service  of  public  worship  but  any  place 
two  people  can  meet  for  quiet  conference. 

(1)  This  is  preeminently  the  work  of  the  pastor  himself. 
With  the  same  steady  purpose  that  characterizes  a  life 
insurance  agent  in  following  up  his  prospects  the  minister 
should  keep  in  mind  particular  individuals  whom  he  covets 
for  Jesus  Christ.  Of  course  it  is  understood  that  his  work 
will  be  intelligent.  He  will  not  “nag”  them — only  keep  his 
purpose  steadily  before  him  and  be  ready  with  suggestion 
when  the  opportunity  shall  open  for  conversation  on  re¬ 
ligious  subjects.  On  the  other  hand,  he  should  not  be  too 
fearful  of  being  tactless.  Better  a  blundering  attempt  at 
personal  evangelism  than  no  attempt  at  all.  The  sincerity 
of  purpose  which  shines  through  the  awkward  movement 
may  redeem  it  and  make  it  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation. 

(2)  But  the  pastor  alone  cannot  do  all  that  should  be 
done.  He  should  associate  with  himself  in  this  work  a  group 
of  persons  in  his  church  with  whom  he  counsels  frequently, 
providing  them  with  names  and  addresses  of  men  and 
women  upon  whom  they  are  to  call,  and  asking  them  to 
report  the  results  of  their  visits.  These  personal  workers 
should  be  selected  with  considerable  care,  for  unhappily 
some  who  would  most  quickly  volunteer  for  this  service  are 
least  effective.  It  is  unwise  to  give  great  publicity  to  the 


152 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


existence  of  this  group  of  helpers.  Their  work  may  be 
more  vital  if  unofficial.  They  should  be  especially  active 
preceding  and  during  special  meetings,  but  their  work  should 
continue  after  the  meetings  have  ended. 

(3)  The  “ Constituency  Roll ”  is  the  list  of  prospective 
members  and  believers  in  whom  the  “Personal  Workers ”  are 
interested.  The  list  is  usually  made  up  about  as  follows : 
(a)  Contributors  who  are  not  members  of  the  church;  (b) 
husbands  of  wives  who  are  members;  (c)  wives  of  hus¬ 
bands  who  are  members;  (d)  members  of  the  Sunday 
school  and  other  organizations  who  are  not  members  of 
the  church;  (e)  attendants  who  are  not  members;  (f)  new 
people  who  may  be  members  of  our  church  elsewhere;  (g) 
most  of  the  people  living  in  the  community  who  do  not  be¬ 
long  to  the  membership  or  constituency  of  some  other 
church. 

c.  Educational  Evangelism.  In  its  true  sense,  educa¬ 
tional  evangelism,  the  third  method  generally  accredited  in 
doing  the  work  of  evangelism,  would  include  the  whole 
task  of  religious  education.  In  this  place,  however,  the 
meaning  is  deliberately  restricted  to  the  days  of  crisis  in  the 
educational  work  of  the  church  when  something  like  the 
revival  method  and  atmosphere  prevail,  supplemented  by 
special  instruction  in  preparation  for  church  membership. 
We  mean  here  what  others  mean  by  Sunday-school  evan¬ 
gelism.  The  purpose  is  to  supplement  the  work  of  teaching 
by  giving  the  pupils  in  the  Sunday  school  an  opportunity 
to  announce  publicly  their  purpose  to  follow  Christ.  Sun¬ 
day-school  evangelism  in  this  sense  merely  reaps  the  fruit 
of  months  and  years  of  sowing  and  cultivating  through  the 
regular  educational  agencies  of  the  church.  The  admin¬ 
istrative  problem  involves  thorough  planning  for  such 
special  meetings — usually  called  Decision-Day  services — as 
may  be  useful,  and  the  organization  of  training  classes  later 
in  preparation  for  church  membership. 

(1)  Decision  Days.  At  least  two  such  days  should  have  a 
place  in  the  calendar  of  the  Sunday-school  year — one  in  the 


EVANGELISM 


153 


autumn,  before  Thanksgiving,  and  another  in  the  spring, 
before  Easter.  They  should  never  be  held  suddenly  or 
with  inadequate  preparation.  The  pastor  and  Sunday- 
school  superintendent  should  take  the  whole  force  of  teach¬ 
ers  and  officers  into  their  confidence  several  weeks  previous 
to  each  service,  for  the  success  of  the  enterprise  turns  more 
upon  the  cooperation  of  the  teachers  than  upon  any  other 
single  factor.  Each  teacher  of  a  class  above  the  Junior 
Division  should  concentrate  upon  the  matter  of  winning 
every  pupil  for  Christ  and  visit  them  personally  to  that  end. 

On  the  day  of  the  service,  and  on  the  Sabbath  preceding, 
the  pastor  should  meet  the  whole  Sunday-School  Board  for 
prayer  and  conference  that  no  detail  shall  be  overlooked. 
When  the  hour  has  arrived  the  teachers  and  officers  should 
be  in  their  places  promptly,  that  there  be  no  needless  delay 
in  marking  rolls  and  receiving  the  offerings.  Special  music 
may  be  helpful  preceding  the  address — likewise  a  good 
congregational  hymn  designed  to  induce  the  mood  of  wor¬ 
ship.  The  address  as  a  rule  should  not  be  more  than  fifteen 
or  twenty  minutes  in  length,  and  should  conclude  with  an 
invitation  to  the  pupils  to  make  public  their  confessions  of 
discipleship.  Some  pastors  provide  teachers  with  “Dec¬ 
laration  Cards”  which  are  distributed  to  their  respective 
classes  at  this  point,  the  declaration  frequently  being  double, 
expressing  (1)  a  desire  to  be  known  as  a  Christian,  and  (2) 
a  wish  to  unite  with  the  church.  Others  prefer  to  ask  those 
who  will  do  so  to  confess  their  newly  formed  purposes  by 
coming  to  the  platform  to  join  them  in  a  session  of  prayer, 
the  names  and  addresses  being  taken  at  the  close  of  the 
service  by  the  teachers.  The  latter  method  has  a  touch  of 
reality  which  the  former  seems  to  lack. 

The  foregoing  method  is  advisable  in  dealing  with  pupils 
in  the  Intermediate,  Senior,  and  Adult  Departments,  col¬ 
lectively  or  by  departments  and  classes.  Something  less 
formal  and  less  intense  is  desirable  for  pupils  in  the  Junior 
Department  (nine  to  eleven  years).  A  better  plan  here  is 
for  the  pastor,  on  the  Sabbath  preceding  Decision  Day,  to 


154 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


announce  simply,  but  earnestly,  that  on  the  following  Sun¬ 
day  he  wishes  to  organize  the  children  into  classes  prepara¬ 
tory  to  church  membership,  and  urge  each  child  who  may 
wish  to  join  the  church  to  secure  the  consent  of  his  parents 
to  do  so.  There  should  be  an  understanding  with  the  teach¬ 
ers  of  the  department  that  they  shall  visit  the  parents  dur¬ 
ing  the  week  to  explain  clearly  what  is  contemplated  and 
ask  their  cooperation.  For  nothing  is  gained  by  opposing 
the  parents  in  a  matter  of  this  kind.  On  Decision  Day  a 
brief  service  of  prayer  and  consecration  with  this  depart¬ 
ment  to  itself  will  suffice,  in  which  the  children  who  will 
join  the  preparatory  classes  make  that  fact  known.  The  im¬ 
portant  problem  will  be  found  later  in  conducting  the  train¬ 
ing  classes  in  such  fashion  that  the  children  come  to  reality 
in  prayer  and  worship. 

(2)  Training  Classes.  No  person  should  be  received  into 
full  membership  in  the  church  who  has  not  been  personally 
instructed  in  the  meaning  of  religion  and  church  member¬ 
ship,  whether  young  or  old,  whether  won  by  the  revival 
method  or  by  personal  work.  In  the  work  of  such  classes 
regard  must  be  had  for  the  principle  of  graded  instruction. 
It  will  seldom  be  possible  to  organize  all  probationers  into  a 
single  class  because  of  the  great  difference  in  ages.  More¬ 
over,  it  is  desirable  from  an  educational  point  of  view  to 
keep  these  classes  small.  Thus  the  instruction  may  be 
adapted  to  the  several  types  of  understanding  and  made 
personal. 

It  cannot  be  emphasized  too  strongly  that  responsibility 
for  this  instruction  rests  squarely  upon  the  pastor,  whoever 
he  may  be,  however  large  his  congregation,  and  whatever 
other  obligations  he  may  feel.  Nothing  takes  precedence  in 
importance  over  this  work.  Any  energetic  minister  can,  and 
should,  teach  two  classes  besides  his  work  of  preaching 
and  shepherding.  They  should  be  “The  Teacher  Training 
Class' ’  and  “The  Probationers ’  Class.”  Thus  he  can  de¬ 
termine  the  type  of  instruction  in  his  Sunday  school  and 
the  beliefs  of  those  coming  into  church  membership.  In 


EVANGELISM 


155 


the  event  that  it  seems  best  to  organize  several  groups  to 
meet  simultaneously,  he  must  call  to  his  help  intelligent  men 
and  women — his  paid  assistants,  if  there  are  such,  otherwise 
volunteer  workers.  These  classes  should  meet  regularly 
throughout  a  period  of  several  weeks,  or  even  months. 

The  constant  aim  of  the  teachers  should  be  to  bring 
candidates  for  church  membership  to  the  point  of  reality  in 
Christian  experience,  interpret  effectively  the  fundamental 
beliefs  of  Christianity,  and  explain  the  history  and  polity 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  The  materials  for 
such  instruction  may  be  gathered  from  the  Bible,  church 
history,  the  more  popular  statements  of  Christian  doctrine, 
the  literature  of  missions  and  social  service,  and  the  Dis¬ 
cipline.  Several  “Manuals”  are  available,  but  the  teacher 
must  work  over  for  himself  all  the  material  he  handles  so 
that  he  may  present  it  in  his  own  way. 

Besides  instruction,  there  should  be  expression  on  the 
part  of  the  several  members  of  the  class — training  in  ac¬ 
tivity.  This  should  consist  in  acts  of  devotion,  teaching 
them  to  worship  aloud  through  prayer  and  testimony.  The 
value  of  attendance  upon  public  worship  should  be  incul¬ 
cated.  Suggestion  should  be  made  as  to  different  ways  in 
which  service  of  a  practical  and  humanitarian  sort  may  be 
rendered  to  the  church  and  the  community.  But  above  all 
else  it  should  be  made  clear  that  an  ethical  life  at  home,  on 
the  playground,  and  in  business  is  the  greatest  service  which 
the  Christian  can  render.  Thus  “church  work”  becomes 
identified  with  daily  living. 

4.  A  Comprehensive  Program  of  Evangelism.  The 
unified  program  of  evangelism  which  the  committee  will 
report  to  the  official  board  for  the  church  year  might  look 
somewhat  as  follows: 

1.  October 

a.  Revision  of  Constituency  Roll  and  organization 
of  Personal  Workers’  Groups. 

b.  Special  evangelistic  meetings  of  the  Epworth 
League. 


156  THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 

2.  November 

a.  Decision  Day  in  the  Sunday  school. 

b.  Organization  of  Probationers’  Classes. 

3.  December 

a.  Take  advantage  of  Christmas  season  to  create 
evangelistic  atmosphere  at  some  of  the  regular 
services. 

b.  Watch  Night  Service. 

4.  January 

Week  of  Prayer  for  the  church  in  all  phases  of 
its  work. 

5.  February 

a.  Utilize  some  of  the  regular  services  for  evan¬ 
gelistic  purposes. 

b.  Plan  for  special  Pre-Easter  services,  arranging 
for  cottage  prayer-meetings,  etc. 

6.  March-April 

a.  Pre-Easter  meetings. 

b.  Palm  Sunday — Decision  Day  in  Sunday  school. 

c.  Easter 

(1)  Reception  of  Probationers  into  full  mem¬ 
bership. 

(2)  Reception  of  new  group  of  probationers. 

7.  May-June 

Organization  of  new  Probationers’  Classes. 

8.  The  first  Sunday  of  each  month  to  be  a  special  day  for 
the  reception  of  new  members  by  transfer  and  on  pro¬ 
bation.  This  will  give  an  objective  which  the  Per¬ 
sonal  Workers  group  can  keep  in  mind. 

Books  Recommended  for  Further  Study 

Charles  L.  Goodell,  Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism,  Pastor 
and  Evangelist,  Heralds  of  a  Passion. 

F.  Watson  Hannan,  Evangelism. 

Edwin  H.  Hughes,  Letters  on  Evangelism. 

L.  M.  Edwards,  Every  Church  Its  Own  Evangelist. 
Washington  Gladden,  The  Christian  Pastor,  Chapter  XVII. 


EVANGELISM 


157 


Henry  C.  Mabie,  Method  in  Soul-Winning. 

Harold  Begbie,  Twice  Born  Men . 

H.  W.  Beecher,  Yale  Lectures,  Second  Series,  Chapters  VIII-XI. 
Frederick  L.  Fagley,  Parish  Evangelism. 

William  S.  Mitchell,  Elements  of  Personal  Christianity. 

Fred  B.  Fisher,  The  Way  to  Win. 

H.  C.  Trumbull,  Individual  Work  for  Individuals. 

John  T.  Stone,  Recruiting  for  Christ. 

W  E.  Biederwolf,  Evangelism. 

Bertha  Conde,  Human  Element  in  the  Making  of  a  Christian. 

J.  H.  Jowett,  The  Passion  for  Souls. 

Frederick  D.  Leete,  Every  Day  Evangelism. 

C.  G.  Trumbull,  Taking  Men  Alive. 

John  T.  Faris,  The  Book  of  Personal  Work. 

Charles  E.  McKinley,  Educational  Evangelism. 

W.  H.  Burgwin,  Practical  Evangelism. 

A.  W.  Leonard,  Evangelism  in  the  Remaking  of  the  World. 


CHAPTER  XV 


THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  RELIGIOUS 

EDUCATION 

Whole  alcoves  have  been  added  to  the  libraries  of  our 
colleges  and  theological  schools  in  the  past  dozen  years  on 
the  subject  of  religious  education.  This  literary  productiv¬ 
ity  indicates  that  there  is  no  subject  in  which  the  church 
is  more  interested.  The  pastor  should  make  himself 
familiar  with  this  new  body  of  literature.  Some  of  it 
is  included  in  the  Conference  Courses  of  Study.  In  ad¬ 
dition,  the  books  listed  at  the  end  of  this  chapter  should  be 
read  and  kept  near  at  hand  for  ready  reference,  and  to 
loan,  perchance,  to  Sunday-school  workers.  Only  a  few 
pages  may  be  devoted  to  the  subject  in  this  volume  where 
the  outlook  is  upon  the  whole  task  of  the  church  rather  than 
upon  a  single  phase  of  its  work.  We  shall  attempt  nothing 
more  than  to  note  briefly  the  chief  factors  in  the  admin¬ 
istrative  problem,  leaving  the  questions  of  practice  and 
method  for  special  study. 

i.  The  Committee  on  Religious  Education.  This 
committee  should  be  composed  of  from  three  to  seven  of 
the  leading  men  and  women  in  the  church  interested  in 
educational  matters.  It  should  act  as  the  school  board  of 
the  church.  The  present  Committee  on  Religious  Instruc¬ 
tion  might  be  competent  for  this  task  if  its  powers  were 
enlarged  so  that  it  would  sustain  a  more  general  relation  to 
all  the  organizations  of  the  church.  In  a  general  way  the 
duties  of  the  Committee  on  Religious  Education  would  be 
to  study  the  educational  problems  of  the  local  church  and 
community,  to  exercise  supervision  over  all  the  educational 
work  of  the  church  with  a  view  of  avoiding  duplication  and 
waste,  and  to  make  such  recommendations  to  the  official 

158 


RELIGIOUS  EDUCATION 


159 


board  as  would  improve  the  quality  of  religious  teaching 
in  the  church. 

2.  The  Administrative  Problem.  The  more  impor¬ 
tant  elements  of  the  problem  of  administration  are  as  fol¬ 
lows  : 

a.  Institutions.  Several  institutions  besides  the  church 
are  engaged  in  the  religious  education  of  the  child,  namely, 
(1)  the  home,  (2)  the  public  school,  and  (3)  the  com¬ 
munity.  The  church  should  understand  the  contribution  of 
each  to  the  common  task  and  seek  the  intelligent  coopera¬ 
tion  of  all. 

Among  these  the  home  is  supreme  by  virtue  of  the  longer 
period  in  which  the  child  is  in  its  care,  the  greater  intimacy 
of  its  contacts,  the  informality  and  spontaneity  of  its  in¬ 
struction,  and  the  democracy  of  family  life.  The  modern 
home  is  breaking  down,  however,  as  an  institution  of  re¬ 
ligious  education.  The  endeavor  on  the  part  of  the  church 
in  this  connection  should  be  to  encourage  family  worship 
by  urging  the  erection  of  “family  altars”  and  calling  at¬ 
tention  to  some  of  the  valuable  manuals  of  prayer  which 
will  be  helpful  to  those  who  find  prayer  difficult.  More¬ 
over,  the  home  should  be  continually  informed  by  church 
visitors  of  the  work  which  the  church  is  doing  with  the 
children,  and  its  sympathetic  cooperation  asked  for. 

The  public  school,  while  not  officially  responsible  for 
teaching  religion,  nevertheless  is  related  in  a  definite  manner 
to  the  problem.  It  is  interested  in  moral  education  indi¬ 
rectly,  at  least,  through  the  personal  contacts  of  teachers 
and  pupils,  and  this  is  an  important  phase  of  religious  edu¬ 
cation.  In  several  States,  notably  North  Dakota  and  Colo¬ 
rado,  academic  credit  is  given  in  the  public  schools  for 
courses  of  instruction  offered  in  churches  which  meet  the 
standards  imposed  upon  the  public  school  itself.  In 
Gary,  Indiana,  this  cooperation  has  been  carried  much  fur¬ 
ther.  The  children  in  the  public  school  may  be  excused 
two  hours  each  week,  at  the  request  of  parents,  to  receive 
religious  instruction  in  their  respective  churches  on  school 


i6o 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


time.  Thus  the  church  and  state  cooperate  in  their  com¬ 
mon  task  without  trespassing  on  each  other’s  special  field. 

Not  least  significant  is  the  general  atmosphere  that  per¬ 
vades  the  community  as  a  whole.  The  church  and  the 
home  and  the  public  school  may  work  in  perfect  harmony 
but  to  little  purpose  if  community  ideals  of  recreation, 
business,  education,  and  politics  are  low.  On  the  con¬ 
trary,  if  these  ideals  are  high,  the  church  and  home  and 
public  school  will  have  in  the  community  a  friendly  ally  in 
their  work. 

Finally,  the  church  must  not  deceive  itself  concerning 
the  defects  which  mar  its  own  educational  activities.  While 
the  public  school  requires  the  presence  of  the  child  several 
hours  each  day  under  trained  instructors  who  are  provided 
with  adequate  material  equipment  to  teach  arithmetic, 
spelling,  geography,  etc.,  the  church  has  been  trying  to 
teach  religion  through  untrained  teachers  who  have  the 
child  one  hour  each  week  and  who  work  with  inferior 
equipment.  Small  wonder  that  we  have  a  generation  of 
untaught  and  confused  Christians  in  our  churches  who  can 
give  no  good  reason  for  the  faith  that  is  in  them! 

b.  Aim.  At  the  present  time  there  appears  to  be  much 
uncertainty  about  the  true  aim  of  the  church  in  its  educa¬ 
tional  task.  “To  teach  the  Bible,”  some  say.  “To  create 
socially  efficient  persons — that  is,  persons  who  have  learned 
how  to  live  with  other  people  to  their  mutual  profit,”  say 
others.  “To  increase  the  membership  and  benevolences  of 
the  church,”  yet  others  suggest,  by  their  action  if  not  by 
their  words.  It  may  be  that  any  one  of  these  aims,  prop¬ 
erly  interpreted,  would  be  sufficiently  comprehensive.  As 
ordinarily  stated,  however,  each  leaves  much  to  be  desired. 
Religion  is  essentially  an  attitude  toward  God — a  fellow¬ 
ship  with  the  Infinite,  and  to  teach  religion  effectively  can¬ 
not  mean  less  than  to  induce  men  to  take  this  attitude, 
establish  this  fellowship.  Instruction  in  Bible  and  doc¬ 
trine  is  given,  but  only  as  a  means  to  an  end.  That  end  is 
to  produce,  we  insist  again,  the  believing  soul — to  lead  the 


RELIGIOUS  EDUCATION 


x6i 


student  to  make  the  great  adventure  of  faith  and  lay  hold 
of  God  at  first  hand  for  himself. 

But  religion  tends  to  organize  for  itself  certain  institu¬ 
tional  forms  which  are  necessary  to  the  propagation  of  re¬ 
ligion.  The  church  is  one  of  these.  Religious  education, 
then,  must  concern  itself  with  training  for  the  work  of  the 
church  as  well  as  with  the  development  of  the  religious 
life.  The  following  definition  includes  both  objects:  ‘‘The 
functions  of  the  church  school  are,  (a)  to  develop  intelli¬ 
gent  and  efficient  Christian  lives  consecrated  to  the  ex¬ 
tension  of  God’s  Kingdom  on  earth,  and  ( b )  to  train  ef¬ 
ficient  leaders  for  all  phases  of  church  work.”1  This  end 
must  ever  be  kept  in  view  by  all  who  are  charged  with  ad¬ 
ministrative  responsibility  for  religious  education,  for  the 
purpose  of  the  organization  will  determine  necessarily  its 
form  and  program. 

c.  Program.  The  aim  of  religious  education  being  what 
it  is,  the  program  of  the  church  school  must  provide  for  (i) 
worship,  (2)  instruction,  and  (3)  service,  for  true  educa¬ 
tion  addresses  itself  to  the  total  personality.  Of  course 
it  is  impossible  to  isolate  one  phase  of  personality  from  all 
others,  but,  in  general,  it  may  be  said  that  worship  is  de¬ 
signed  primarily  to  cultivate  the  religious  emotions;  in¬ 
struction,  to  inform  the  mind  with  religious  knowledge; 
and  service,  to  enlist  the  will  so  that  religious  action  may 
become  habitual.  To  plan  intelligently  the  details  of  this 
triple  program  and  to  distribute  them  properly  among  the 
several  agencies  of  the  church,  constitute  the  heart  of  the 
administrative  problem  of  the  pastor  and  the  Committee 
on  Religious  Education. 

The  volumes  recommended  at  the  conclusion  of  this  chap¬ 
ter  contain  valuable  suggestions  touching  this  matter. 

d.  Grading.  In  the  Sunday  school  we  are  dealing  with 
persons  in  every  stage  of  growth.  The  graded  character  of 
the  student  body  requires  that  the  school  shall  be  graded 


1W.  S.  Athearn,  The  Church  School,  p.  1. 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


162 

as  to  (1)  organization,  (2)  worship,  (3)  instruction,  and 
(4)  activities.  Some  little  respect  has  always  been  paid 
to  this  principle.  No  school  puts  babies  into  the  older  peo¬ 
ple’s  classes.  Until  recently,  however,  it  would  have  been 
difficult  to  make  an  affirmation  more  specific,  for  personal 
preferences  of  the  pupils  and  personal  attachments  between 
pupils  and  teachers  had  more  to  do  with  determining  classes 
than  any  other  consideration.2 

(1)  Grading  the  organization  means  the  grouping  of 
the  pupils  into  classes,  and  classes  into  departments  on  the 
basis  of  age  and  development,  and  providing  for  the  pro¬ 
motion  from  lower  to  higher  levels. 

(2)  Grading  the  instruction  has  to  do  with  both  the  mat¬ 
ter  and  method  of  teaching.  It  implies  that  lesson  ma¬ 
terials  should  be  selected  with  the  thought  of  their  adapta¬ 
bility  to  particular  groups  in  mind,  and  not  with  a  view  of 
presenting  in  all  classes  the  same  subject  at  the  same  time. 
Grading  the  method  implies  the  same  truth  as  to  the  man¬ 
ner  of  presenting  the  lesson  material. 

(3)  Grading  the  worship  assumes  that  no  one  order  of 
worship  is  adapted  to  all  ages  any  more  than  one  type  of 
lesson  material.  So  far  as  possible  the  worship  of  the 
Sunday  school  should  be  by  departments.  The  “general 
assembly”  may  have  value  for  special  days,  but  is  not  good 
for  regular  occasions. 

(4)  Grading  the  activities  is  as  important  as  grading  the 
instruction,  for  these  two  are  one  flesh.  Activities  are 
necessary  that  the  pupil  may  learn  the  truth  by  doing  it  as 
well  as  by  hearing.  By  this  means  the  pupil  is  led  to  ex¬ 
press  as  well  as  receive  knowledge  by  impression  from  the 
teacher.  But  children  do  not  express  themselves  as  adults. 
For  a  comprehensive  treatment  of  “the  graded  school,” 
every  pastor  should  read  the  books  recommended  at  the 
close  of  this  chapter. 

e.  Officers  and  Teachers.  The  problem  of  the  admin- 

aBurton  and  Mathews,  Principles  and  Ideals  for  the  Sunday 
School,  p.  123. 


RELIGIOUS  EDUCATION  163 

istrator  is  well-nigh  solved  when  he  has  selected  and  trained 
competent  associates  to  assist  him,  and  distributed  respon¬ 
sibility  intelligently  among  them.  In  the  Methodist  Epis¬ 
copal  Church  the  selection  of  leaders  for  the  church  school 
unmistakably  devolves  upon  the  pastor.  No  teacher  can  be 
nominated  to  the  Sunday  School  Board  without  his  con¬ 
currence,  and  it  would  be  difficult  to  secure  the  confirmation 
of  a  superintendent  by  the  Quarterly  Conference  in  the 
face  of  his  opposition.  The  most  frequent  lament  heard 
among  pastors  deals  with  the  dearth  of  lay  leaders  or  their 
unwillingness  to  serve.  But  the  work  must  be  done  with 
the  human  material  that  is  available.  The  only  solution  of 
this  problem  is  for  the  pastor  to  take  his  teaching  office 
seriously.  If  he  ministers  to  a  large  church,  he  may  secure 
an  expert  to  whom  he  can  turn  over  all  responsibility  for 
the  educational  work  of  the  church,  called  usually  a  director 
of  religious  education.  But  not  one  church  in  fifty  is  pre¬ 
pared  to  employ  such  a  teaching  pastor  in  addition  to  the 
preaching  minister.  The  only  alternative  is  for  the  one 
pastor  to  give  himself  to  the  task  of  training  officers  and 
teachers  for  the  church  school.  A  few  teachers  may  be 
induced  to  take  a  Correspondence  Training  Course  under 
the  Board  of  Sunday  Schools  at  Chicago.  In  many  larger 
towns  and  cities  Community  Night  Schools  of  Religious 
Education  are  doing  excellent  work  in  training  Sunday- 
school  workers.  But  only  a  few  leaders  in  each  school 
are  thus  reached.  Such  agencies  do  not  take  the  place  of 
training  classes  in  the  local  church.  The  development  of 
these  classes  should  be  the  pastor's  chief  concern.  It  may 
be  pleasanter  to  teach  the  Brotherhood  Class,  or  lead  the 
Boy  Scouts,  but  his  general  relation  to  the  school  as  a 
whole  forbids  his  pouring  himself  out  exclusively  over  a 
few  when  all  need  his  guidance.  [The  way  he  may  most 
directly  minister  to  all  is  to  fill  his  subordinate  leaders  with 
his  ideals  and  spirit,  who,  in  turn,  will  pass  them  on  to 
others.  Every  pastor  can  and  should  teach  two  classes, 
as  mentioned  previously — (/)  the  Teacher  Training  Class 


164 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


and  (2)  the  Probationers’  Class.  In  this  way  he  can  de¬ 
termine  in  a  very  few  years  what  a  whole  church  shall 
believe. 

The  first  step  in  the  development  of  a  competent  staff 
of  workers  is  to  invite  those  who  are  already  teaching  in 
the  school,  but  have  had  no  training  for  their  work,  together 
with  a  selected  number  of  young  people  who  seem  to  be 
potential  teachers,  to  join  such  a  training  class.  Arrange 
an  hour  for  meeting  that  will  be  convenient  to  the  greatest 
number.  Speak  of  the  ideals  you  hold  and  the  opportunity 
for  the  investment  of  life  that  is  afforded  the  conscientious 
Sunday-school  teacher.  Then  outline  the  course  of  study 
covering  two  or  three  years,  having  consulted  the  Teacher 
Training  Department  of  the  Board  of  Sunday  Schools  pre¬ 
viously  as  to  methods  and  materials.  The  course  of  study 
should  include  at  least  four  fundamental  subjects: 

(1)  The  pupil,  his  nature  and  development  at  different 
ages,  and  the  way  his  mind  works. 

(2)  The  materials  of  study,  such  as  the  Bible,  church 
history,  Christian  missions,  etc. 

(3)  Principles  and  methods  of  teaching. 

(4)  Organization  and  administration  of  the  school .3 

If  the  pastor  can  secure  others  more  competent  than  him¬ 
self  to  take  charge  of  this  class,  well  and  good.  If  not, 
then  he  should  not  shirk  the  responsibility.  If  he  is  not 
ready,  he  must  get  ready  by  reading  and  study. 

f.  Finance.  The  administrative  problem  includes  the 
element  of  finance.  At  the  present  time  the  Sunday  school 
is  a  very  profitable  “side  line”  for  the  church.  It  not  only 
pays  all  its  own  expenses  but,  in  addition,  it  makes  generous 
contributions  to  the  benevolent  work  of  the  church — all  of 
this  without  being  a  charge  against  the  general  budget  of 
the  church.  Would  it  not  be  more  ideal,  however,  if  the 
church  included  the  expenses  of  the  Sunday  school  in  its 


3See  Organization  and  Administration  of  the  Sunday  School, 
Cuninggim  and  North,  p.  47. 


RELIGIOUS  EDUCATION 


165 

regular  budget,  and  then  asked  the  Sunday  school  to  make 
a  contribution  toward  the  expenses  of  the  church?  Is  not 
the  educational  work  of  the  church  as  deserving  of  support 
by  the  whole  church  as  the  work  of  the  choir  and  the  work 
of  the  minister? 

In  formulating  a  financial  policy  for  the  Sunday  school, 
it  must  be  remembered  that  giving  should  have  educational 
value.  It  is  an  expressional  activity,  supplementing  in¬ 
struction  by  requiring  the  pupil  to  act  upon  the  truth  as 
well  as  hear  it.  Giving  that  is  truly  educational  is,  first  of 
all,  (1)  intelligent.  It  is  prompted  by  a  rational  appeal  in 
which  exact  information  is  presented,  and  never  based  pri¬ 
marily  on  thoughtless  impulse.  If  the  pupils  can  be  in¬ 
duced  to  ask  questions  or  discuss  the  proposed  object  of 
benevolence,  so  much  the  better.  (2)  Again,  this  giving 
must  be  real.  That  is,  it  should  be  something  that  is  of 
value  and  belongs  to  the  child  himself — not  something  for 
which  he  cares  little  or  which  he  has  received  for  the  ask¬ 
ing  from  another.  (3)  Moreover,  this  giving  should  be 
unselfish.  Much  so-called  charity  is  actuated  by  motives 
that  are  un-Christian.  Even  in  the  church  the  appeal  to 
denominational  pride  and  ambition  crowds  aside  the  un¬ 
selfish  appeal  to  give  without  hope  of  personal  or  denomina¬ 
tional  reward.  (4)  And,  finally,  this  giving  should  be 
systematic  and  regidar.  Only  so  will  the  church  have  ade¬ 
quate  funds  to  carry  on  her  work  without  embarrassment. 

Many  schools  divide  the  total  offering  into  three  parts. 
The  first  is  contributed  toward  the  local  expenses  of  the 
church;  the  second  is  set  apart  for  missions  and  other 
stated  benevolences ;  while  the  third  is  kept  as  a  fund  from 
which  special  appropriations  are  made,  from  time  to  time, 
in  support  generally  of  local  community  institutions.  This 
fund  should  be  safeguarded  by  a  committee  whose  recom¬ 
mendation  shall  be  necessary  before  any  appropriation  can 
be  authorized. 

g.  Pupils.  Another  important  factor  in  the  administra¬ 
tive  problem  of  the  church  school  has  to  do  with  securing 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


1 66 

and  holding  a  student  body.  Ideally  every  member  of 
every  family  should  be  enrolled  and  active  in  some  depart¬ 
ment  of  the  school.  This  ideal  is  difficult  to  attain,  nor 
can  it  be  even  approximated  except  by  the  most  diligent 
application. 

( 1 )  The  first  duty  is  to  hold  what  we  already  have.  This 
can  be  done  only  by  making  the  school  a  good  school.  For 
this  it  is  not  necessary  that  it  be  large,  but  only  that  its 
teaching  be  worthy.  “Many  a  school  that  is  blaming  the 
people  for  their  lack  of  spirituality  needs  to  lay  the  blame 
for  its  empty  benches  on  its  own  sloth  and  lack  of  ability.” 
It  is  altogether  possible  for  a  Sunday  school  to  deserve  no 
pupils. 

(2)  But  not  all  the  students  can  be  retained.  Death  and 
removal,  if  no  other  influences,  will  continually  deplete  the 
enrollment.  Moreover,  the  community  is  always  growing 
by  birth  and  by  the  coming  of  new  people  from  other  com¬ 
munities.  The  obligation  to  serve  these  strangers  as  well 
as  the  need  to  replace  the  natural  losses  makes  it  impera¬ 
tive  that  new  pupils  shall  be  recruited  intelligently  and  sys¬ 
tematically.  The  following  methods  are  generally  ap¬ 
proved  : 

(a)  Let  the  school  understand  just  what  its  held  may  be. 
A  map  of  this  field  should  hang  in  the  room  where  teach¬ 
ers’  meetings  are  held. 

(b)  A  careful  census  should  be  taken  of  this  area  at 
least  once  a  year,  noting  the  names,  ages,  sex,  and  Sunday- 
school  affiliations  of  all  who  live  here. 

(c)  After  the  names  of  all  prospective  pupils  as  revealed 
by  the  census  have  been  tabulated  or  catalogued,  a  per¬ 
sistent  effort  should  be  made  to  secure  their  enrollment  in 
the  school.  Let  personal  invitations  be  given  by  parish 
visitors,  teachers,  pupils,  and  members  of  the  church  who 
live  in  the  vicinity.  Let  these  names  be  put  upon  a  mailing 
list  of  persons  who  receive  regularly  bulletins  from  the 
church  and  school.  Do  not  be  satisfied  with  a  single  invi¬ 
tation.  Secure  the  names  of  all  children  under  three  for 


RELIGIOUS  EDUCATION 


167 


the  Cradle  Roll.  Do  not  be  betrayed,  however,  into  the 
folly  of  conducting  a  “color  contest,”  dividing  the  school 
into  rival  camps  of  “reds”  and  “blues,”  each  endeavoring 
to  secure  the  larger  number  of  students.  The  last  state  of 
a  school  which  adopts  this  method  of  increasing  its  enroll¬ 
ment  is  nearly  always  worse  than  the  first. 

(d)  A  wholesome  school  spirit  should  be  cultivated. 
This  can  be  done  by  making  the  work  of  the  school  so  much 
worth  while  that  students  cannot  but  be  proud  of  it. 

h.  Plan  of  Organization .  The  Sunday-school  administra¬ 
tor  must  ever  be  working  over  his  plan  of  organization. 
The  school  includes  persons  of  all  ages  and  both  sexes, 
sometimes  in  larger  and  sometimes  in  smaller  numbers. 
And  the  plan  of  organization  will  vary  according  to  these 
several  factors.  A  little  school  of  ten  or  twelve  would 
probably  have  two  classes  and  two  teachers,  the  teachers 
acting  as  officers.  A  school  of  fifty,  according  to  Fergus- 
son,  would  organize  five  classes,  under  five  teachers  and 
two  officers,  a  superintendent  and  a  secretary;  a  primary, 
junior,  intermediate,  senior,  and  adult  class.  Each  of  the 
classes  would  expand  into  a  department  corresponding  to 
its  name  as  the  enrollment  increases  to  one  hundred,  five 
hundred,  or  a  thousand,  with  such  additional  classes, 
teachers,  and  officers  as  the  larger  enrollment  may  require. 

The  departmental  organization  generally  approved  for 
the  larger  school  is  as  follows: 

(1)  A  General  Superintendent,  together  with  an  additional 

superintendent  for  each  department. 

(2)  A  General  Secretary,  together  with  an  additional  sec¬ 

retary  for  each  department. 

(3)  A  Treasurer,  with  such  assistants  as  may  be  needed. 

(4)  Teachers  and  classes  grouped  by  departments — 

(a)  Beginners’ — 3  to  5  years  inclusive. 

( b )  Primary — 6  to  8  years  inclusive. 

(c)  Junior — 9  to  11  years  inclusive. 

( d )  Intermediate — 12  to  14  years  inclusive. 

(e)  Senior — 15  to  17  years  inclusive. 


1 68 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


(f)  Young  People’s — 18  to  23  years  inclusive. 

(g)  Adult — over  23  years. 

( h )  Extension  Department  with  Superintendent  and 

Visitors. 

(i)  Cradle  Roll  and  Home  Department. 

(5)  Organists,  choristers,  and  ushers  as  may  be  needed 

for  the  general  and  departmental  assemblies. 

(6)  In  many  classes  in  the  Senior,  Young  People’s,  and 

Adult  Departments,  the  stability  of  the  group  has 
been  increased  by  class  organizations  with  officers 
and  committees.  Such  organizations  provide  new 
opportunities  of  service,  and  promote  “class  spirit.” 

( i )  Cooperation.  The  Sunday-school  administrator 
must  continually  strive  for  cooperation  on  the  part  of  all 
engaged  in  the  educational  task. 

(1)  This  has  to  do  with  the  relation  of  his  school  to 
other  Sunday  schools  in  the  community.  It  has  been  charged 
that  while  the  public  school  is  a  unifying  force,  the  Sunday 
school  is  a  divisive  force,  setting  group  against  group  in 
mutual  hostility.  This  need  not  be.  It  is  entirely  possible 
for  the  several  schools  in  a  community  to  regard  them¬ 
selves  as  fellow  workers  on  the  common  task  of  religious 
education,  so  dividing  the  work  and  the  field  that  no  one 
shall  be  overlooked  and  the  rights  of  all  shall  be  respected. 

(2)  Moreover,  it  has  to  do  with  the  public  school.  There 
should  be  no  censure  of  the  State  school  as  godless.  The 
same  standards  of  grading  should  be  followed  as  far  as 
possible  in  the  two  schools.  And  the  child  should  not  find 
his  teacher  on  Sunday  denying  the  things  that  were  taught 
him  in  the  public  school  during  the  week. 

(3)  Again  this  concerns  the  spirit  of  his  own  organiza¬ 
tion.  Every  officer  and  teacher,  every  department  and 
class  should  have  the  same  attitude  and  share  in  the  com¬ 
mon  enthusiasm.  This  state  of  affairs  can  never  obtain  if 
an  individual  or  a  small  group  makes  out  the  program  and 
demands  that  the  majority  shall  give  unquestioning  obedi¬ 
ence.  School  spirit  and  loyalty  come  only  from  full  and 


RELIGIOUS  EDUCATION 


169 


frequent  discussion,  in  the  most  democratic  way,  on  the  part 
of  the  officers,  teachers,  and  pupils,  so  that  whatever  de¬ 
cisions  may  be  reached  or  plans  made  appear  to  be  the  out¬ 
come  of  the  collective  thought  of  the  whole  group. 

(4)  Finally,  an  effort  should  be  made  to  correlate  into  a 
unified  program  all  the  educational  work  that  is  done  by  the 
several  organizations  in  the  local  church.  This  does  not 
imply  that  all  study  classes  shall  meet  at  the  same  hour,  or 
that  no  organization  shall  conduct  classes  except  the  Sun¬ 
day  school.  It  only  means  that  an  intelligent  effort  shall 
be  made  to  avoid  duplication  of  classes  and  subjects.  It  is 
hard  to  see  why  the  Epworth  League  should  conduct  Bible 
classes  in  addition  to  those  conducted  by  the  Sunday  school. 
It  is  confusing  to  have  several  small  mission  study  classes 
when  one  good  class  would  be  better  every  way.  More¬ 
over,  unity,  as  it  applies  to  the  curriculum,  requires  that 
no  important  subject  shall  be  overlooked  as  well  as  that 
there  shall  be  no  waste  through  duplication. 

j.  Building  and  Equipment.  The  careful  administrator 
will  realize  that  good  educational  work  cannot  be  done  with¬ 
out  proper  physical  equipment  and  a  building  adapted  to 
school  work.  The  ideal  thing  would  be  to  have  a  house 
constructed  especially  for  the  Sunday  school,  providing 
separate  rooms  for  all  departments  and  for  most  of  the 
classes,  and  completely  furnished  with  the  necessary  tools 
for  teaching.  A  few  churches  approximate  this  ideal 
closely.  Most  of  them  fall  far  short  of  it,  and  it  will  be  an 
important  part  of  the  administrator's  work  to  secure  better 
housing  and  equipment  for  his  school. 

The  least  he  can  plan  on  as  to  housing  will  be  separate 
rooms  for  the  Beginners’,  Primary,  and  Junior  Depart¬ 
ments  respectively.  If  necessary,  the  Intermediate,  Senior, 
Young  People’s  and  Adult  Departments  may  meet  together 
for  worship,  but  separate  classrooms  should  be  provided 
as  far  as  possible  for  the  several  classes.  The  Board  of 
Sunday  Schools  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  main¬ 
tains  a  bureau  of  architecture  and  will  gladly  submit  plans 


170 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


and  suggestions  to  any  pastor  or  superintendent  contem¬ 
plating  a  new  building  or  remodeling  an  old  one. 

Good  equipment  can  be  secured  by  any  school  that  really 
desires  it.  This  means,  first,  that  the  rooms  shall  be  airy  and 
clean.  A  few  good  pictures  can  be  hung  upon  the  walls. 
Small  chairs  and  tables  can  be  provided  for  the  younger 
children,  maps  and  blackboards  for  such  teachers  as  will 
use  them,  musical  instruments  and  good  song  books  as  may 
be  necessary  to  lead  in  song,  and  materials  for  manual 
work,  such  as  sand-tables,  clay,  crayons,  blocks,  drawing 
materials,  etc. 

k.  Records.  Finally,  the  importance  of  careful  account¬ 
ing  of  personnel  and  funds  will  not  be  overlooked  by  the 
careful  administrator.  Careful  records  of  all  receipts  and 
disbursements  must  be  kept  by  the  treasurer,  and  his  ac¬ 
counts  regularly  audited.  And  the  secretary  must  work 
out  such  a  system  of  records  as  will  account  definitely  for 
everyone  who  comes  in  the  school  and  for  every  absentee. 
The  Methodist  Book  Concern  will  gladly  provide  a  full 
system  of  records  at  little  cost,  and  the  Board  of  Sunday 
Schools  will  be  pleased  to  advise  all  persons  interested  in 
improving  Sunday-school  accounting. 


Books  Recommended  for  Further  Study 

John  E.  Stout,  Organisation  and  Administration  of  Religious 
Education. 

W.  S.  Athearn,  The  Church  School. 

Burton  and  Mathews,  Principles  and  Ideals  for  the  Sunday 
School. 

H.  F.  Cope,  Efficiency  in  the  Sunday  School;  Religious  Education 
in  the  Family;  The  Week-day  Church  School;  School  in  the  Mod¬ 
ern  Church;  The  Modern  Sunday  School  in  Principle  and  Practice. 

E.  M.  Fergusson,  How  to  Run  a  Little  Sunday  School;  Church 
School  Administration. 

Howard  J.  Gee,  Methods  of  Church  School  Administration. 

Hugh  Hartshorne,  Worship  in  the  Sunday  School. 

W.  N.  Hutchins,  Graded  Social  Service  for  the  Sunday  School. 

Marion  Lawrance,  How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School. 


RELIGIOUS  EDUCATION 


171 

Franklin  McElfresh,  Training  of  Sunday  School  Teachers  and 
Officers. 

H.  H.  Meyer,  The  Graded  School  in  Principle  and  Practice. 
Margaret  Slattery,  Talks  With  the  Training  Class. 

George  H.  Betts,  The  New  Program  of  Religious  Education. 
George  A.  Coe,  Education  in  Religion  and  Morals;  Social  Theory 
of  Religious  Education. 

A.  A.  Lamoreaux,  The  Unfolding  Life. 

Albert  H.  Gage,  How  to  Conduct  a  Church  Vacation  School. 
Charles  W.  Brewbaker,  Sunday  School  Management. 

Herbert  F.  Evans,  The  Sunday  School  Building  and  Its  Equip¬ 
ment. 

Dan  B.  Brummitt,  The  Efficient  Epworthian. 


CHAPTER  XVI 


THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  SERVICE 
The  Church  Family 

All  true  worship,  evangelism,  and  religious  education 
create  the  spirit  of  service.  Those  charged  with  adminis¬ 
tering  the  church  as  an  organization  should  plan  intelli¬ 
gently  for  the  wise  expression  of  this  spirit.  Generally 
speaking,  these  activities  will  be  directed  toward  a  three¬ 
fold  object: 

The  Church  Family. 

The  Local  Community. 

The  World  Community. 

It  will  be  impossible  in  practice  always  to  distinguish 
sharply  between  these  several  types  of  service.  Each  will 
shade  imperceptibly  into  the  other.  The  distinctions,  how¬ 
ever,  serve  a  purpose  if  they  help  us  to  clear  thinking  about 
the  whole  task  of  the  church. 

i.  The  Standing  Committee  on  Service  probably 
should  be  larger  than  the  other  great  committees,  for  its 
field  is  so  broad  that  it  may  be  necessary  to  distribute  its 
work  among  several  subcommittees.  It  should  be  com¬ 
posed  of  representatives  of  all  the  major  organizations  in 
the  church  which  seek  to  minister  to  human  welfare  in 
some  vital  and  consistent  manner.  These  usually  are  the 
official  board,  the  Sunday  school,  the  Ladies’  Aid  Society, 
the  Epworth  League,  and  the  local  auxiliaries  of  the 
Women’s  Missionary  Societies. 

A  physician,  a  deaconess  (if  one  is  employed  by  the 
church),  at  least  one  philanthropically  disposed  person  who 
is  informed  about  the  principles  and  methods  of  modern 
charity,  and  an  educator  should  be  additional  members  of 
the  committee. 


172 


THE  CHURCH  FAMILY 


173 


The  function  of  the  committee  is  to  unify  the  various 
programs  of  service  which  are  outlined  by  the  several  or¬ 
ganizations  within  the  church  so  that  waste  may  be  avoided, 
on  the  one  hand,  and  no  worthy  object  be  overlooked,  on 
the  other;  to  nourish  the  spirit  of  service  by  making  it 
intelligent  and  comprehensive ;  to  assist  in  providing  such 
equipment  as  may  be  needed  if  service  is  to  be  efficient ;  and 
to  develop  such  a  system  of  records  as  will  tell  quickly  and 
accurately  the  story  of  service  rendered  by  the  church. 

The  division  of  labor  within  the  committee  would  nat¬ 
urally  be  determined  by  the  several  objects  of  service,  and 
permanent  subcommittees  might  be  appointed  on  (1)  Local 
Church  Relief,  (2)  Community  Service,  and  (3)  Missions. 
The  work  of  this  standing  committee  is  necessarily  related 
intimately  to  that  of  every  other  committee,  and  joint  meet¬ 
ings  should  be  held  as  frequently  as  necessary  in  the  interest 
of  perfect  cooperation. 

2.  Service  in  the  Local  Church.  This  service  em¬ 
braces  every  activity  that  is  designed  to  maintain  the  local 
organization  in  good  working  condition,  and  to  promote 
Christian  fellowship  among  the  members  of  the  church  as 
distinguished  from  non-church  members  in  the  community. 
This  is  not  its  only  duty,  but  certainly  the  church  is  under 
an  obligation  to  care  for  its  own  in  every  possible  way. 

a.  One  thinks  first  of  the  duty  toward  dependent  mem¬ 
bers  of  the”  church.  These*  would  include  the  unemployed, 
the  sick,  the  aged,  and  all  who  are  infirm  for  any  cause.  The 
obligation  here  requires  that  provision  shall  be  made  for 
their  systematic  care,  and  for  the  comfort  that  is  afforded 
by  friendly  interest  and  personal  visitation.  It  is  disgrace¬ 
ful  for  the  church  to  permit  one  of  its  members  to  become  a 
charge  upon  public  charity.  If  the  resources  of  the  local 
organization  are  not  adequate  to  meet  the  situation,  then 
the  matter  should  be  laid  before  the  district  superintendent 
with  a  view  of  securing  help  from  other  churches  of  the 
denomination.  Of  course  the  aid  given  should  never  pauper¬ 
ize  the  beneficiary.  The  social  workers  on  the  committee 


i74 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


should  formulate  a  plan  for  the  rehabilitation  of  the  suf¬ 
ferer,  if  that  is  possible;  otherwise  for  his  regular  support. 
And  whatever  is  done  should  be  done  intelligently  and  in 
the  spirit  of  Christian  love.  Quite  probably  an  important 
part  of  the  task  will  be  to  control  the  interest  of  several 
church  organizations  so  that  the  object  of  their  regard  shall 
not  suffer  from  too  much  attention  at  one  time  and  too 
little  at  another. 

b.  The  next  great  opportunity  for  service  to  the  church 
family  is  found  in  the  need  of  all,  old  and  young  alike,  for 
recreation  and  amusement.  In  most  of  the  Christian  cen¬ 
turies  play  has  been  looked  upon  by  the  church  “as  a  more 
or  less  permissible  sin  rather  than  a  natural,  right,  and  beau¬ 
tiful  expression  of  the  human  spirit.”  The  last  thirty 
years,  however,  have  witnessed  a  change  that  is  very  like 
a  “renaissance.”  Teachers  have  come  to  regard  play  as 
the  chief  instrument  of  physical,  mental,  and  moral  growth 
for  the  young.  There  is  larger  appreciation  too  of  its  value 
for  adults  in  its  power  to  renew  the  jaded  spirit.  Indeed, 
the  “amusement  problem”  within  the  church  is  only  a  part 
of  the  larger  problem  of  community  play  to  which  the 
church  sustains  a  definite  relation,  and  of  which  we  shall 
speak  later.  That  problem  is  positive  rather  than  negative 
in  character.  It  does  not  mean  primarily  standing  guard 
over  young  people  to  see  that  they  refrain  from  certain 
amusements  forbidden  by  the  church.  It  is,  rather,  the 
much  more  difficult  task  of  providing  all  people  in  the  church 
and  community  with  such  opportunities  for  play  as  are  in¬ 
dispensable  to  a  full,  rich  life. 

No  simple  and  final  answer  can  be  made  to  the  question, 
“What  shall  be  the  social  and  recreational  activities  of  the 
church?”  That  will  depend  upon  (i)  the  provision  that 
the  community  as  a  whole  makes  for  play;  (2)  the  type  of 
community  in  which  the  church  is  located;  and  (3)  the 
financial  ability  of  the  church.  For  example,  if  the  com¬ 
munity  supports  a  well-equipped  Y.  M.  C.  A.  with  compe¬ 
tent  directors  of  social  work  and  physical  education,  it  is 


THE  CHURCH  FAMILY 


175 


not  necessary  for  the  church  in  that  place  to  duplicate  this 
equipment.  Or  where  the  community  supports  regular  ex¬ 
hibitions  of  moving  pictures,  it  is  not  quite  clear  that  the 
church  should  render  a  similar  service,  even  for  its  own 
people.  The  wiser  plan  is  to  cooperate  with  each  agency 
that  is  doing  well  some  special  work,  giving  it  financial  and 
moral  support  in  return  for  the  service  which  it  is  willing 
to  render  the  church.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  community 
is  not  providing  for  the  play  life  of  its  citizens,  and  cannot 
be  induced  to  do  so,  the  church,  up  to  the  measure  of  its 
ability,  is  obligated  to  engage  in  this  special  form  of  service. 
Again,  a  church  located  in  an  industrial  community  may 
be  expected  to  supply  a  special  ministry  that  is  not  required 
of  a  church  in  a  rural  village  or  in  a  suburban  town.  Or, 
again,  it  would  be  folly  for  a  church  composed  chiefly  of 
wage-earners  to  attempt  the  achievements  of  a  church  of 
wealthier  people. 

Certain  ideals  should  control  the  church  in  serving  the 
need  of~~its  owrr^family  for  wholesome  recreation. '  First, 
it  is^rrcrt  often  imperatfve-'ttTat  the  equipment  be  elaborate. 
The  organized  Sunday-school  class,  the  Boy  Scout  Troop, 
the  Camp  Fire  Girls’  Patrol  and  other  such  organizations 
are  well  designed  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the  “gang 
spirit”  of  youth  without  spending  large  sums  of  money. 
After  a  comfortable  place  for  regular  meetings  has  been 
provided,  the  resourcefulness  of  active  young  people  will 
usually  supply  whatever  more  may  be  needed.  Generally, 
the  pastor  and  his  wife  will  do  much  better  to  train  others 
to  lead  such  groups  than  to  undertake  that  work  them¬ 
selves.  This  is  especially  true  in  the  Methodist  Church, 
where  the  pastor  is  subject  to  sudden  and  frequent  re¬ 
movals.  Among  the  simpler  forms  of  amusement  within 
the  reach  of  any  church  the  following  may  be  mentioned : 

(1)  Athletic  teams  for  boys  and  girls — baseball,  basket¬ 
ball,  tennis,  etc. 

(2)  Social  activities  of  organized  classes. 

(3)  Camping  trips,  hikes,  outings,  etc. 


176 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


(4)  Boy  Scouts. 

(5)  Camp  Fire  Girls. 

(6)  Reading  Circles. 

(7)  Amateur  dramatics,  pageants,  etc. 

(8)  Socials,  entertainments,  lectures,  dinners,  etc. 

The  second  ideal  that  should  be  controlling  for  the  church 
in  this  matter  is  respect  for  the  educational  value  of  play. 
Certain  institutions  may  be  warranted  in  thinking  of  amuse¬ 
ment  as  an  end  in  itself.  This  cannot  be  true  of  the  church. 
It  recognizes  the  play  instinct  as  of  divine  origin,  but  an 
instinct  which  makes  fmTgrdwIh:  Any  attempt  to  satisfy 
this  instinct  should  be  intelligently  designed  to  promote 
moral  and  spiritual  development.  An  illustration  of  the 
wrong  use  of  play  by  the  church  may  appear  in  athletics. 
A  baseball  team  in  the  Sunday  school  might  seem  desirable 
because  it  would  advertise  the  school.  To  do  this  well  the 
team  must  be  a  “winning  team.,,  To  create  such  a  team  the 
school  authorities  are  tempted  to  blink  at  questionable  prac¬ 
tices  ;  for  example,  make  it  worth  while  for  good  ball  play¬ 
ers  to  come  to  Sunday  school  to  play  ball  rather  than  to 
receive  education  in  religion  and  morals.  All  the  trouble 
starts  from  the  wrong  use  of  play.  If  an  athletic  team  is 
organized  in  a  Sunday  school,  it  should  be  because  such 
an  agency  is  desirable  educationally.  Baseball  easily  lends 
itself  to  religious  and  moral  training  if  the  end  be  honest, 
sportsmanlike  fun  rather  than  to  win  a  game  at  any  cost. 
Otherwise,  it  may  educate  in  the  wrong  direction.  To  se¬ 
lect  the  team  out  of  the  regular  members  of  the  Sunday 
school,  who  come  winter  and  summer;  to  teach  them  to 
play  the  best  game  possible,  but  always  an  honest  game ;  to 
train  them  to  despise  evasions,  insincerity,  ungentlemanli¬ 
ness,  and  to  learn  such  self-control  that  they  are  “good 
losers” — this  is  to  utilize  play  for  educational  purposes. 

(3)  A  third  principle  is  implied  by  the  second.  To  have 
educational  value,  all  play  must  be  supervised.  This  does 
not  mean  that  some  one  must  prescribe  in  detail  all  that 
young  people  may  do.  It  does  mean  that  a  wise  senior  shall 


THE  CHURCH  FAMILY 


1 77 


be  at  hand  to  guide  and  direct  the  play  activities  so  that 
only  good  may  come  of  them.  This  is  of  especial  concern 
to  those  who  may  be  planning  better  equipment  for  play, 
such  as  a  gymnasium,  without  thought  of  employing  a  com¬ 
petent  person  to  superintend  it.  Let  nothing — not  even  a 
Sunday-school  picnic — be  planned  in  the  way  of  recreation 
unless  it  is  properly  supervised.  The  young  of  the  race 
must  play,  but  they  cannot  play  by  themselves  without  dan¬ 
ger  to  themselves. 

c.  A  third  specific  service  which  the  church  must  render 
to  its  own  membership  is  to  train  them  in  and  for  Christian 
work.  Obviously,  much  of  this  training  is  accomplished 
through  worship  and  instruction.  But  these  must  be  sup¬ 
plemented  by  activities  designed  to  serve  a  threefold  func¬ 
tion,  namely,  (i)  to  express  and  deepen  the  faith  of  the 
believer;  (2)  to  make  the  organizedchurch  an  effective  in¬ 
strument  for  redeeming  life;  (3)  and  to  support  every 
agency  in  the  community  which  helps  to  make  the  world  a 
decent  place  in  which  to  live. 

Ideally,  every  member  of  the  church  should  be  responsi¬ 
ble  for  doing  a  worthy  and  specific  task  that  will  call  forth 
constantly  his  best  efforts.  It  is  a  commonplace,  however, 
that  the  work  of  most  churches  is  done  by  “a  faithful  few,” 
and  that  pastors  find  it  difficult  to  increase  their  volunteer 
staff  because  of  the  reluctance  of  church  members  to  enlist 
for  active  service.  By  giving  the  matter  careful  considera¬ 
tion,  nevertheless,  some  have  been  able  to  approximate  the 
ideal  of  “a  task  for  everyone.”  They  have  exalted  in  pul¬ 
pit  and  private  conversation  the  dignity  of  church  work. 
They  have  classified  the  things  that  were  to  be  done  about 
the  church  in  an  Opportunity  Book,1  and  asked  each  mem¬ 
ber  to  place  a  check  opposite  the  service  in  which  he  was 
most  interested.  And  they  have  refused  to  limit  Chris¬ 
tian  service  to  “church  work.”  It  includes,  they  insist,  a 
helpful  social  ministry  through  community  organizations, 

*Send  ten  cents  for  the  one  prepared  by  the  Fourth  Presbyterian 
Church,  Chicago. 


178 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


and  the  application  of  Christian  principles  in  the  daily 
routine  of  life,  as  well  as  doing  specific  tasks  assigned  by 
the  church.  It  will  never  be  possible  to  put  everyone  at 
work  in  the  narrower  sense.  Many  members  are  children; 
others  are  housewives  and  mothers  who  do  their  own  work 
and  cannot  assume  responsibilities  outside  their  families ; 
still  others  find  that  the  demands  of  everyday  work  inter¬ 
fere  with  “church  work.”  But  it  is  quite  possible  that  the 
proportion  of  active  workers  is  much  larger  than  is  gen¬ 
erally  supposed  if  the  broader  view  of  Christian  service  be 
taken  into  account.  The  “Unit  System”  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  by  which  each  member  of  the  church  is 
assigned  to  a  group  called  a  “Unit”  in  charge  of  a  “Unit 
leader,”  is  a  device  for  putting  everyone  at  work. 

In  the  average  church  some  such  list  of  tasks  and  needed 
workers  as  the  following  may  be  made: 

(1)  Evangelistic 

Mission  workers. 

Personal  workers. 

Singers  in  the  choir,  etc. 

(2)  Educational 

Sunday-school  teachers  and  workers. 

Leaders  for  boys’  and  girls’  clubs. 

Officers  and  committees  of  organized  classes. 

Leaders  of  mission  study  classes. 

(3)  Church  Organizations 

Visitors,  canvassers,  ushers,  etc. 

Officers  and  committeemen. 

Clerks  to  assist  in  keeping  records,  etc. 

(4)  Social 

Lriendly  visiting  for  local  charity  organizations. 

Social  settlement  workers. 

Leading  local  corn,  pig,  potato,  and  other  commu¬ 
nity  clubs. 

Representing  the  church  in  law-enforcement  or¬ 
ganizations. 

Assisting  the  unemployed,  etc. 


THE  CHURCH  FAMILY 


179 


Conducting  farmers’  institutes  and  fairs. 

Holiday  celebrations. 

Hospital  supplies. 

Some  of  these  workers  may  be  enlisted  by  a  public  appeal 
for  volunteers.  For  the  important  tasks,  however,  the  prin¬ 
ciple  of  the  “selective  draft’’  must  be  employed  if  the  best 
workers  are  to  be  secured. 

In  training  these  workers,  the  wise  pastor  will  utilize  the 
best  literature  that  has  been  published  and,  when  possible, 
hold  local  training  conferences.  Moreover,  he  will  send 
each  year  as  large  a  group  as  possible  to  the  nearest  sum¬ 
mer  institutes  conducted  by  the  Board  of  Sunday  Schools, 
the  Epworth  League,  or  other  church  organizations.  The 
local  church  can  well  afford  to  pay  the  expenses,  in  part, 
or  wholly,  of  all  such  delegates. 

Books  Recommended  for  Further  Study 

E.  T.  Devine,  Misery  and  Its  Causes;  Principles  of  Relief;  The 
Practice  of  Charity. 

R.  C.  Cabot,  What  Men  Live  By,  Part  II. 

J.  V.  Thompson,  Handbook  for  Workers  with  Young  People. 

H.  F.  Cope,  Principles  of  Christian  Service. 

Dan  B.  Brummitt,  The  Efficient  Epworthian. 

Christian  F.  Reisner,  Social  Plans  for  Young  People. 

Jessie  H.  Bancroft,  Games  for  Play  Ground,  Home,  School  and 
Gymnasium. 

Luella  A.  Palmer,  Play  in  the  First  Eight  Years. 

Mary  E.  Blain,  Games  For  All  Occasions. 

Leader’s  Manual  for  Boy  Scouts  Movement. 

Allan  Hoben,  The  Minister  and  the  Boy. 


CHAPTER  XVII 


THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  SERVICE 
The  Local  Community 

The  church  is  obligated,  however,  to  render  a  wider 
service  than  to  its  own  membership.  It  belongs  to  the  com¬ 
munity  and  must  participate  in  all  that  concerns  the  com¬ 
munity. 

i.  Definitions.  It  may  be  well  to  begin  this  section  with 
a  few  definitions. 

a.  “ What  is  a  community ?”  The  authorities  are  gen¬ 
erally  agreed  that  a  community  consists  of  a  group  of 
people,  living  in  a  single  locality  and  having  common  in¬ 
terests  by  virtue  of  that  fact.  This  describes  equally  well 
several  kinds  of  communities — the  home,  the  school,  the 
township,  the  village,  the  municipality,  the  state,  and  the 
nation.  The  term  will  be  used  here  to  designate  that  circle 
of  social  relationships  just  outside  the  family  group  in 
which  are  to  be  found  the  principal  satisfactions  and  in¬ 
terests  not  supplied  by  the  home.1  The  geographical  radius 
of  this  circle  varies  greatly  in  length.  For  the  villager,  the 
community  will  be  identical  with  his  home  town.  For  the 
city  dweller,  it  may  mean  only  a  section  of  the  city  in  which 
he  lives — his  “neighborhood.”  For  the  countryman  it  will 
mean,  as  a  rule,  “that  territory,  with  its  people,  which  lies 
within  the  team  haul  of  a  given  center.”  The  motor  vehicle 
is  stretching  this  radius  very  rapidly.2  The  community 
always  includes  those  families  and  persons  who  have  com¬ 
mon  social,  educational,  economic,  political,  and  religious 
needs  and  is  the  medium  through  which  these  needs  are 
met. 

barren  H  Wilson,  Evolution  of  the  Country  Community ,  p.  92. 

2 Id.,  p.  91. 

180 


THE  LOCAL  COMMUNITY 


181 


b.  “What  is  community  service f”  Obviously,  any  min¬ 
istry  to  a  community  need.  It  may  be  rendered  by  many 
persons  and  institutions,  the  physician  and  the  hospital,  the 
teacher  and  the  school,  the  business  man  and  the  institu¬ 
tions  of  commerce  and  industry,  the  officials  and  machinery 
of  government,  the  minister  and  the  church. 

c.  “ What  is  a  community  church?”  Let  us  say  that  it 
is  a  church  which  takes  account  of  every  kind  of  com¬ 
munity  need  and  endeavors  to  organize  its  activities  in  such 
a  way  as  to  minister  intelligently  and  systematically  to  those 
needs.  It  may,  or  may  not,  be  the  only  church  supported  by 
the  community.  It  may,  or  may  not,  have  denominational 
affiliations.  All  or  only  a  part  of  the  community  may  par¬ 
ticipate  in  its  management.  The  determinative  fact  is  its 
spirit  and  breadth  of  vision.  It  must  be  committed  to  the 
social  conception  of  the  Kingdom  which  insists  that  the 
Kingdom  is  outward  as  well  as  inward,  present  as  well  as 
future,  and  embraces  the  life  that  now  is  as  well  as  the  life 
that  is  to  come. 

There  are  three  types  of  community  churches,  each  pos¬ 
sessing  advantages  and  disadvantages : 

(1)  The  Federated  Church,  in  which  two  or  more  con¬ 
gregations  worship  as  one  while  maintaining  respectively 
their  denominational  integrity. 

(2)  The  Independent  Church  which  has  no  denomina¬ 
tional  affiliations. 

(3)  The  Denominational  Church  with  a  Community 
Program. 

For  Methodists  this  ideal  of  service  as  varied  as  human 
need  is  a  return  to  Wesleyan  ideals.  John  Wesley  was  the 
chief  of  all  eighteenth-century  evangelists  and  at  the  same 
time  one  of  the  greatest  of  social  reformers.  John  Howard 
was  not  more  deeply  stirred  than  he  over  the  filthy  jails  and 
brutal  penal  methods  of  his  day.  He  was  among  the  first 
to  agitate  for  the  abolition  of  slavery,  and  the  very  last 
letter  that  he  wrote  was  addressed  to  William  Wilberforce 
bidding  him,  “Go  on,  in  the  name  of  God  and  the  power  of 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


182 

his  might,  till  even  American  slavery,  the  vilest  that  ever 
saw  the  sun,  shall  vanish  before  it.”  In  the  face  of  great 
opposition  he  preached  on  political  themes  since  politics  had 
to  do  with  such  matters  as  war,  slavery,  the  regulation  of 
industry,  education,  disease,  and  crime.  He  established  loan 
funds  and  dispensaries  in  connection  with  his  chapels,  and 
converted  the  society  room  at  “the  Foundry”  into  a  place 
for  carding  and  spinning  cotton.  In  1743  he  made  a  “social 
survey”  of  London,  mapping  the  city  out  into  twenty-three 
districts  and  assigning  two  volunteer  workers  to  each  to 
care  for  the  poor  of  his  societies.  He  ministered  no  less 
enthusiastically  to  the  intellectual  than  the  spiritual  needs 
of  his  people,  establishing  schools  and  editing  cheap  editions 
of  good  literature  for  them. 

The  utter  futility  of  attempting  to  redeem  the  individual 
without  evangelizing  the  social  conditions  in  which  he  lives 
is  vividly  illustrated  in  the  story  of  Six  Thousand  Country 
Churches  in  Ohio,  by  Gill  and  Pinchot.  This  is  largely  a 
story  of  eighteen  counties  in  southeastern  Ohio  where 
churches  are  more  plentiful  in  proportion  to  the  population 
than  in  any  other  part  of  the  State  and  also  where  illegit¬ 
imacy,  illiteracy,  tuberculosis,  venereal  disease,  corrupt 
politics,  and  superstition  are  most  in  evidence.  The  reason 
is  not  to  be  found  in  bad  economic  conditions,  for  poor  soil 
itself  cannot  deprave  a  whole  population.  It  is  due  to  the 
prevalence  of  a  type  of  religion  which  exhausts  itself  in 
excessive  emotionalism  without  relating  itself  to  matters  of 
conduct.  “For  the  most  part  the  farm  people  of  these  eigh¬ 
teen  counties  are  very  religious.  This  is  attested  not  merely 
by  the  large  number  of  churches  but  also  by  the  frequency 
of  well-attended  revival  services,  held  in  spring,  summer, 
autumn,  and  winter.  (In  Pike  County,  for  example,  no  less 
than  fifteen  hundred  revival  services  were  held  in  thirty 
years,  or  an  average  of  fifty  each  year.)  Yet  a  normal, 
wholesome  religion,  bearing  as  its  fruit  better  living  and  all¬ 
round  human  development,  and  cherished  and  propagated 
by  sane  and  sober-minded  people,  is  rarely  known.  .  .  . 


THE  LOCAL  COMMUNITY 


183 

Officials  of  denominations  to  which  more  than  two  thirds 
of  the  churches  belong  encourage  or  permit  the  promotion 
of  a  religion  of  the  excessively  emotional  type,  which  en¬ 
courages  rolling  upon  the  floor  by  men,  women,  and  chil¬ 
dren,  and  going  into  trances,  while  some  things  which  have 
happened  in  the  regular  services  of  a  church  in  one  of  the 
largest  denominations  cannot  properly  be  described  in 
print.”3 

2.  Community  Interests.  In  approaching  community 
problems  it  will  be  noticed  that  all  of  them  “hang  together.” 
Pick  up  the  problem  of  industry,  for  example,  and  the  prob¬ 
lems  of  sickness,  dependency,  delinquency,  education,  and 
politics  come  up  with  it.  For  purposes  of  thought,  how¬ 
ever,  we  may  make  a  logical  separation  of  these  interests 
and  consider  the  more  important  of  them  as  though  they 
were  unrelated.  It  scarcely  needs  to  be  said  that  within 
the  limits  imposed  upon  us,  it  is  impossible  to  do  more  than 
suggest  these  problems  in  outline  and  hint  at  the  contribu¬ 
tion  which  the  church  can  make,  as  a  rule,  to  their  solution. 

a.  Religion.  In  the  light  of  what  was  said  concerning 
worship,  it  must  be  clear  that  the  most  important  collective 
interest  which  any  community  has  is  religion.  Current  criti¬ 
cism  of  religion  from  the  standpoint  of  the  community 
makes  two  serious  charges.  First,  the  type  of  religion  that 
is  generally  taught  is  too  subjective  to  establish  any  but  the 
slightest  relations  with  the  present  world.  Second,  many 
believe  that  the  divisions  and  strife  within  the  church  itself 
render  it  incapable  of  bringing  to  mankind  the  boon  of  salva¬ 
tion.  There  are  high-souled  idealists  outside  the  church 
who,  far  from  expecting  any  help  from  the  church,  regard 
it  as  a  part  of  “the  social  problem,”  and  have  set  for  them¬ 
selves  the  task  of  Christianizing  the  church !  This  criticism 
is  not  always  careful  to  appreciate  the  wholesome  influence 
which  the  church  is  now  exercising  in  society,  but  there  is 
a  good  deal  in  it  nevertheless. 

3Reprinted  by  permission  of  The  Macmillan  Company,  from  Six 
Thousand  Country  Churches,  p.  21,  by  Gill  and  Pinchoi 


184 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


The  question  of  religion  as  a  community  affair  requires, 
then,  that  the  church  shall  teach  a  type  of  religion  that  is 
socially  valuable,  relating  itself  helpfully  to  the  whole  of 
life.  This  does  not  mean  merely  that  the  church  shall 
render  “social  service,”  binding  up  the  wounds  of  those  who 
are  hurt  in  the  on-going  of  the  social  order.  It  means, 
rather,  that  the  church  shall  make  an  ethical  appraisal  of 
the  order  itself,  inquiring  if  the  reason  so  many  are  hurt 
may  not  be  due  in  large  part  to  the  prevalence  of  non- 
Christian  methods  and  motives  in  the  order  as  a  whole. 
This  is  primarily  an  educational  task,  and  the  agencies  by 
which  it  is  to  be  accomplished  are  the  pulpit  and  the  class¬ 
room. 

In  the  next  place,  it  will  be  necessary  for  churchmen  to 
practice  this  gospel  as  well  as  teach  it.  An  important  factor 
in  the  present  social  confusion  is  that  some  of  the  staunch¬ 
est  defenders  of  prevailing  methods  in  business,  finance,  and 
diplomacy  which  work  hardship  on  many,  are  conspicuous 
laymen  and  ministers  in  the  church.  No  individual  can  be 
held  accountable  for  things  being  as  they  are.  We  are  all 
caught  in  a  scheme  of  things  which  no  one  person  can 
change,  and  many  are  compelled  against  their  will  to  “play 
the  game  according  to  the  accepted  rules.”  But  there  is  no 
need  that  Christian  men  shall  defend  these  rules  as  ideal. 
They  can  admit  their  pagan  character  and  work  earnestly 
for  a  change. 

Furthermore,  the  church  must  become  social  toward  its 
several  parts  and  be  filled  with  the  spirit  of  cooperation 
toward  all  other  community  institutions.  It  must  learn  to 
think  of  itself,  not  as  an  end,  but  as  a  means  (and  not  the 
only  means)  of  Christianizing  society.  It  must  lose  the 
self-consciousness  which  has  exalted  denominational  in¬ 
terests  above  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  be  willing  to  dis¬ 
appear  from  a  given  community  if  that  will  unify  the  re¬ 
ligious  forces  and  promote  the  cause  of  religion.  For  it  is 
quite  conceivable  that  in  some  communities  there  would  be 
more  religion  if  there  were  fewer  churches.  Moreover,  it 


THE  LOCAL  COMMUNITY 


185 

must  regard  any  agency  which  contributes  to  human  wel¬ 
fare  as  its  natural  ally,  not  an  enemy.  The  redemption  of 
life  is  a  task  so  formidable  that  we  should  welcome  all 
possible  assistance  from  the  lodge,  the  school,  the  grange, 
the  business  club,  and  give  our  best  to  them  in  return.  That 
may  mean  that  the  church  assist  in  keeping  them  true  to 
their  highest  ideals. 

b.  Recreation.  The  amusement  situation  in, .-America 
is  characterized  by,  three  unfortunate  features — profession -jy 
alisnp,  commercialism,  and  immorality  A  Prof  e  ssinnahsrti'  i s 
the  result  .oi  the  American:  habit  of  taking  recreation  by 
watching  others  play.  Witness  the  vicarious  play  of  20,000,- 
000  people  at  the  motion-picture  theaters  every  day,  of 
probably  50,000,000  baseball  “fans”  congregated  about  the 
bulletin  boards  and  newspapers  when  diamonds  are  in¬ 
accessible  during  the  baseball  season,  of  as  many  as  70,000 
persons  crowded  into  a  single  stadium  watching  the  strug¬ 
gles  of  twenty-two  men  in  the  center.  Is  this  the  best  that 
a  great  civilization  can  do  in  providing  recreation  for  the 
multitude — employ  professional  entertainers  to  play  for 
them?  Is  there  no  way  to  get  the  people  to  stretch  their 
own  muscles  and  exert  themselves? 

Commercialism  follows  directly  upon  professionalism  in 
play.  The  community  depends  for  its  amusement  upon  the 
promoter  who,  however  valuable  his  services  may  be,  ex¬ 
ploits  the  normal  instincts  for  play  in  the  interest  of  com¬ 
mercial  profits.  Mr.  R.  H.  Edwards  observes :  “In  no 
phase  of  our  whole  great  modem  struggle  against  excessive 
profits  for  the  few  and  in  favor  of  human  values  for  the 
many  is  the  battle  any  keener  than  in  this  ‘superficial’  ques¬ 
tion  of  popular  amusement.  As  the  congestion  of  city  life 
thickens  and  the  daily  struggle  for  a  living  wage  grows 
sharper,  the  human  need  for  release  through  real  recreation 
becomes  sharper  also.  ...  If  spontaneous,  wholesome,  and 
well-ordered  play  is  a  profoundly  educative  and  moralizing 
force,  then  the  substitution  of  cold,  profit-seeking  amuse- 


4R.  H.  Edwards,  Christianity  and  Amusements ,  p.  12. 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


1 86 

ments,  artificial  and  often  nasty,  can  but  exercise  a  cor¬ 
respondingly  profound  effect  for  demoralization.”5 

And  out  of  these  two  comes  the  third, .immorality.  Who 
is  not  familiar  with  the  struggle  in  every  community  to 
keep  the  theaters  free  from  indecent  suggestiveness ;  sports 
free  from  gambling;  and  the  dance  halls  and  public  parks 
free  from  vice?  Professor  Rauschenbusch’s  generalization 
is  not  too  sweeping — that  pleasure  resorts  run  for  profit  are 
always  edging  along  toward  the  forbidden. 

The  particular  responsibility  of  the  church  in  connection 
with  this  matter  would  seem  to  be,  first  of  all,  the  creation 
of  an  intelligent  body  of  public  opinion  on  the  subject  of 
play,  developing  in  the  community  a  sense  of  collective  obli¬ 
gation  to  provide  adequate  facilities  for  recreation  for  young 
and  old.  This  is  another  part  of  its  educational  task  to  be 
accomplished  through  the  pulpit  and  the  class.  Besides  this 
educational  work,  the  church  may  insist  upon  the  strict 
supervision  by  the  community  through  proper  officials  of 
all  public  amusement  places.  Unsupervised  parks,  play¬ 
grounds,  gardens,  theaters,  dance  halls,  are  a  menace  to  the 
moral  health. 

In  the  event  that  no  other  institution  in  the  community 
has  a  major  responsibility  in  the  matter,  the  church  should 
make  of  itself  the  center  of  social  and  recreational  ac¬ 
tivities.  The  church  in  the  country  or  the  small  village 
often  has  an  exceptional  opportunity  to  do  this.  The  play 
life  of  the  community  is  thus  brought  under  the  direct  con¬ 
trol  of  the  church  and  no  one  will  be  to  blame  but  the 
church  itself  if  the  social  atmosphere  is  uncongenial  to  spirit¬ 
uality.  To  make  itself  thus  the  center  of  social  life  will 
require  a  considerable  expenditure  of  money  for  buildings, 
equipment,  and  additional  workers.  For  the  pastor  cannot 
become  the  director  of  boys’  and  girls’  clubs  and  at  the  same 
time  do  all  that  he  should  do  as  preacher  and  shepherd. 
And  however  many  salaried  workers  may  be  employed, 

5 Christianity  and  Amusements ,  p.  17-  Reprinted  by  permission  of 
Association  Press. 


THE  LOCAL  COMMUNITY  187 

they  must  have  tools  to  work  with.  It  is  advisable,  then, 
for  the  church  to  make  sure  that  some  other  institution 
cannot  do  this  work  more  effectively  and  economically  be¬ 
fore  entering  upon  such  a  program  of  service.  In  that 
event,  as  indicated  above,  the  obligation  of  the  church  would 
be  to  cooperate  with  such  an  institution  rather  than  enter 
into  competition  with  it,  supplying  it  with  financial  resources 
and  leadership,  and  keeping  its  ideals  of  service  true. 

c.  Industry.  Concern  for  its  own  interest,  if  no  higher 
motive,  would  impel  the  church  to  relate  itself  to  the  prob¬ 
lems  of  workaday  life  in  the  community  which  it  serves.  If 
the  present  industrial  order  is  giving  us  a  depleted  manhood 
and  womanhood,  that  means  a  depleted  church.  For  “the 
church  cannot  thrive  where  society  decays.”  And  if  the 
church  is  indifferent  to  these  which  are  the  paramount  in¬ 
terests  to  a  majority  of  the  people,  the  alienation  of  great 
industrial  groups  is  inevitable.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  this 
alienation  is  already  an  accomplished  fact  in  many  industrial 
and  agricultural  communities. 

The  chief  contribution  expected  from  the  church  in  the 
solution  of  economic  problems  is  not  mere  remedial  ac¬ 
tivity,  such  as  the  maintenance  of  relief  agencies  which  will 
make  tolerable  the  misery  of  those  who  feel  acutely  the 
pressure  of  these  problems.  It  is  more  important  that  the 
church  should  deal  directly  with  the  great  causes  of  this 
misery  and  exalt  a  new  set  of  ideals  which,  if  permitted  to 
control,  would  Christianize  industry.  Its  work  will  be 
largely  educational.  The  aim  must  be,  not  to  change  in¬ 
dustrial  and  social  forms,  but  to  put  a  new  spirit  into  what¬ 
ever  industrial  organization  is  approved  by  society. 

(5)  In  her  teaching  the  church  will  interpret  certain 
great  ethical  ideals  exalted  by  Jesus.  The  first  of  them  is 
respect  for  personality.  Jesus  put  human  welfare  above 
every  other  consideration.  Men  were  of  more  value  to  him 
than  things,  such  as  grass,  birds,  lilies,  oxen,  and  sheep. 
The  religious  institutions  of  his  day  were  made  for  them — 
the  law,  the  temple,  the  Sabbath.  Children  were  precious, 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


1 88 

for  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Womanhood  was 
reverenced  even  though  it  had  been  ravaged  by  man’s  lust. 
Human  life  was  regarded  so  highly  that  he  made  it  his  one 
business  to  nurse  it  back  to  strength  after  it  had  been  en¬ 
feebled  by  sin,  disease,  superstition,  and  ignorance.  A  thor¬ 
oughgoing  application  of  this  principle  of  respect  for  per¬ 
sonality  would  correct  every  social  wrong  against  which 
the  workers  of  the  world  protest. 

(2)  A  second  principle  that  must  be  emphasized  by  the 
church  as  essential  to  an  ideal  economic  order  is  cooperation. 
Competition  and  coercion  stand  thoroughly  discredited  as 
instruments  of  social  advance.  The  champions  of  the  doc¬ 
trine  of  the  “survival  of  the  fittest”  never  were  able  to  de¬ 
fend  it  from  the  standpoint  of  Christian  ethics.  Jesus’  gos¬ 
pel  of  love  is  utterly  at  variance  with  any  philosophy  of 
force.  The  doctrine  was  justified  scientifically  by  reliance 
upon  a  misinterpretation  of  Darwin’s  theory  of  the  devel¬ 
opment  of  life.  The  great  Englishman  himself  pointed  out 
that  there  were  two  factors  which  explained  the  survival 
of  life  in  its  various  forms — struggle  and  mutual  aid. 
Popular  thought  seized  upon  the  first  and  magnified  it 
until  the  second  was  lost  to  view.  Before  his  death  it  be¬ 
came  clear  to  Darwin  that  his  message  would  be  hopelessly 
misrepresented.  “I  am  beginning  to  despair  of  ever  making 
the  majority  understand  my  notions.  ...  I  must  be  a 
very  bad  explainer,”  he  said. 

Obviously,  the  effort  of  “social  Darwinians”  to  justify 
the  principle  of  competition  in  trade  and  politics  was  wholly 
misguided.  Commerce  and  industry  are  saving  themselves 
in  our  day  only  by  turning  away  from  this  principle  to  that 
of  cooperation.  Employers  do  not  regard  each  other  any 
longer  as  enemies  to  be  devoured,  but  as  friends  to  be 
helped.  Hence,  the  development  of  the  trust,  and  employ¬ 
ers’  associations.  Laborers,  likewise,  refuse  longer  to  eat 
each  other  up  in  bloody  competition,  and  now  associate 
themselves  together  in  mutual  helpfulness  in  trade  and  in¬ 
dustrial  unions.  Industrial  peace  waits  only  upon  the  fur- 


THE  LOCAL  COMMUNITY 


189 


ther  application  of  this  principle.  Competition  now  is  be¬ 
tween  classes  rather  than  individuals.  Producers  combine 
together  against  middlemen,  and  middlemen  against  pro¬ 
ducers.  Laborers  unite  against  employers,  and  employers 
against  laborers.  And  both  groups  are  capable  of  working 
together  in  exploiting  the  consumer.  The  Christian  ideal 
requires  that  all  groups  having  to  do  with  the  production 
and  distribution  of  wealth  shall  learn  how  to  work  together, 
not  in  the  interest  of  one  or  two  parties,  but  in  kindly  help¬ 
fulness  to  all  people. 

(3)  Another  ideal  upon  which  the  church  must  insist  is 
that  the  Christian  motive  of  service  shall  be  substituted 
for  the  pagan  motive  of  self-interest.  To  the  uncontrolled 
desire  for  gain  can  be  traced  all  the  chicane  and  iniquity 
of  modern  trade.  It  tempts  the  merchant  to  take  advantage 
of  the  ignorance  of  the  purchaser.  It  prompts  the  pro¬ 
ducer  at  times  to  curtail  production  and  at  other  times  to 
surpass  the  economic  needs  of  society.  It  impels  the 
“middleman/’  the  distributor,  to  gamble  in  the  necessaries 
of  life,  and  even  to  destroy  vast  quantities  of  food  and  goods 
for  personal  gain.  It  sends  a  bargain-hunting  public  racing 
after  shoddy  goods  that  have  been  produced  by  “sweating” 
their  fellow  man  under  intolerable  conditions.  It  drives 
“big  business”  to  do  some  very  small  things — secure  monop¬ 
olies  that  are  protected  by  law,  make  industrial  accidents  a 
charge  upon  the  community,  especially  upon  the  family  of 
the  unfortunate  worker;  pay  wages  so  meager  that  work¬ 
ers  have  to  get  free  board  and  lodgings  at  home  or  supple¬ 
ment  their  earnings  by  sin.  And  it  has  sometimes  caused 
an  organized  group  of  laborers  to  violate  contracts  for  no 
other  reason  than  they  had  the  power  to  do  so. 

If  the  practicability  of  service  as  a  motive  in  industry  be 
called  in  question,  let  the  fact  be  remembered  that  long  since 
all  the  great  professions  have  passed  under  its  control. 
Evidence  of  the  predatory  spirit  in  the  minister,  the  teacher, 
the  physician,  and  the  lawyer  is  punished  swiftly  by  a  loss 
of  caste  among  his  professional  peers.  Any  legitimate  form 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


190 


of  business  is  a  service  to  society,  and  can  justify  itself  only 
on  this  ground.  By  what  right,  then,  does  business  ask  ex¬ 
emptions  from  the  control  of  an  unselfish  motive  while  the 
professions  gladly  acknowledge  the  obligations  of  service? 
Business  must  ‘"professionalize”  itself ! 

The  church  may  employ  several  methods  in  performing 
this  work  of  education.  The  pastor  should  often  call  at¬ 
tention  to  these  great  principles  from  the  pulpit.  It  is 
understood,  of  course,  that  he  will  not  speak  until  he  has 
informed  himself  fully  concerning  them,  and  that  he  will 
not  lose  his  sense  of  proportion  so  that  he  comes  to  have 
nothing  but  a  “social  message.”  Besides  this,  it  may  be 
possible  to  organize  study  groups  in  connection  with  the 
Sunday  school  or  the  midweek  service  for  the  consideration 
of  social  and  industrial  themes.  Some  pastors  conduct 
“forums”  for  the  candid  discussion  by  competent  persons 
of  any  matter  vital  to  the  welfare  of  the  community.  These 
discussions  are  held  frequently  on  Sunday  afternoon  or  on 
a  week  night.  Often  they  are  substituted  for  the  Sunday¬ 
evening  service  of  worship.  Their  value  lies  in  the  fact 
that  an  opportunity  is  given  for  questions  from  the  floor 
and  everyone  has  a  chance  to  express  himself  who  cares 
to  do  so. 

Individual  churches  may  find  it  possible  to  supplement 
this  educational  work  with  ^activities  designed  to  advance 
the  economic  interests  of  the  community.  For  example, 
many  rural  churches  promote  “pig”  and  “corn  clubs”  among 
:he  boys  and  girls,  and  cooperate  with  agricultural  colleges 


in  conducting  fairs  and  institutes  which  bring  the  whole 


countryside  together.  Many  city  churches  organize  vacant- 
lot  garden  clubs  and  establish  industrial  departments  which 
give  employment  to  large  numbers  of  persons.  The  “Good 
Will  Industries,”  which  are  fostered  by  the  Board  of  Home 
Missions  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  a  number 
of  cities,  are  illustrations  in  point. 

d.  Poverty.  Every  community,  rural  and  urban  alike, 
must  reckon  with  the  fact  of  poverty  in  larger  or  smaller 


THE  LOCAL  COMMUNITY 


191 

degree,  for  there  are  always  some  who  do  not  have  suf¬ 
ficient  income  to  maintain  themselves  in  health  and  physical 
efficiency.  Before  the  World  War  the  average  wage-earner 
and  his  family  in  America  lived  constantly  on  the  brink  of 
poverty.  A  prolonged  illness  or  a  considerable  period  of  un¬ 
employment  brought  them  face  to  face  with  actual  want. 
And  in  spite  of  the  higher  wages  received  by  all  classes  of 
workers  at  the  present  time,  it  is  a  question  whether  they 
are  relatively  better  oft,  for  the  increase  in  wages  has  hardly 
been  proportionate  to  the  increased  cost  of  goods.  If  the 
average  wage-earner  is  living  all  the  time  on  the  poverty 
line,  there  are  many  who  live  constantly  below  that  line. 
Not  all  of  them  are  paupers,  that  is,  dependent  upon  public 
or  private  charity,  but  all  of  them  are  underfed,  insuf¬ 
ficiently  clad,  and  badly  housed.  For  them  a  period  of  sick¬ 
ness  or  unemployment  means  such  a  degree  of  want  that 
they  are  pushed  over  the  line  into  pauperism.  In  1904  Rob¬ 
ert  Hunter  estimated  that  there  were  not  far  from  10,000,- 
000  persons  living  in  poverty  in  the  United  States.  At  the 
time  many  regarded  this  as  an  exaggerated  statement. 
Later  researches,  however,  have  confirmed  rather  than  dis¬ 
credited  it.  Ward  declared  in  1915  that  4,000,000  persons 
in  the  United  States  were  living  in  destitution. 

Until  a  recent  period  poverty  was  generally  regarded  as 
a  regrettable,  but  unavoidable  fact.  Modern  leaders  in 
social  reform,  however,  are  convinced  that  it  is  both  curable 
and  preventable.  A  fresh  study  of  the  prophets  and  the 
teachings  of  Jesus  has  discovered  that  in  both  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments  the  biblical  ideal  is,  rather,  to  remove  the 
causes  of  poverty  than  mitigate  the  evil  by  mere  almsgiving. 
The  church  cannot  but  indorse  this  new  view,  which  turns 
out  to  have  been  an  old  one,  and  cooperate  enthusiastically 
with  all  agencies  which  address  themselves  to  the  prevention 
as  well  as  the  relief  of  misery. 

As  in  the  case  of  the  economic  problem,  so  here,  the  prin¬ 
cipal  service  which  the  church  can  render  is  educational.  It 
may  see  to  it  that  the  community  is  informed  concerning  the 


192 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


great  causes  of  poverty.  These  are,  in  part,  personal.  Men¬ 
tal  and  physical  defects,  shiftlessness,  intemperance,  gam¬ 
bling,  delinquency,  and  crime  are  responsible  for  much 
misery  among  workers.  In  other  part  these  causes  are 
social  and  of  such  a  nature  that  the  worker  has  no  power 
over  them.,*  Sickness  is  most  frequently  the  immediate  oc¬ 
casion  for  charity,  and  often  is  the  direct  result  of  the 
nature  of  the  work  in  which  the  toiler  engages/  Unemploy¬ 
ment  figures  as  the  next  most  common  cause  of  poverty. 
Forty  per  cent  of  all  wage  earners  suffer  some  unemploy¬ 
ment  every  year  and  the  loss  in  wages  is  from  twenty  to 
thirty  per  cent  of  the  total  amount  of  what  their  earnings 
would  be  if  they  were  employed  constantly.  The  relation 
between  a  small  uncertain  income  and  poverty  is  unmis¬ 
takably  clear. 

Furthermore,  the  church  must  regard  it  as  her  particular 
task  to  develop  in  the  community  a  sense  of  collective  re¬ 
sponsibility  for  the  welfare  of  the  poor  and  to  generate  the 

#  *  *"*"  * 1  ■*»*"** 

moral  power  necessary  to  the  relief  and  prevention  of  pov¬ 
erty.  A  message  that  is  calculated  to  make  employers  so¬ 
cially  minded  and  to  secure  a  fairer  distribution  of  the  prod¬ 
uct  of  labor  will  contribute  directly  to  this  end.  It  is  the 
particular  privilege  of  the  church  to  create  an  atmosphere 
in  which  social  workers  shall  find  their  faith  strengthened 
and  to  build  up  a  body  of  public  opinion  which  will  provide 
adequately  for  the  work  of  charitable  organizations  sup¬ 
ported  by  the  community. 

In  addition  to  this  educational  service  designed  to  remove 
ultimately  the  causes  of  poverty,  the  church  must  concern 
itself  actively  with  remedial  measures.  Nothing  that  the 
'v  churches  can  do  in  this  connection  will  be  more  important 
than  such  a  ministry  to  the  spiritual  life  as  will  transform 
the  shiftless,  the  intemperate,  the  impure  man  into  a  new 
creature  in  Christ  Jesus.  The  regeneration  and  sanctifica¬ 
tion  of  the  individual  life  will  go  far  to  remove  the  purely 
personal  causes  of  poverty. 

Besides  this,  however,  most  churches  will  find  it  necessary 


THE  LOCAL  COMMUNITY 


193 


to  minister  material  relief  to  distressed  families.  All  serv¬ 
ice  of  this  kind  should  be  controlled  by  the  principles  of 
charitable  relief  now  universally  approved  by  the  most 
successful  social  workers.  First,  all  such  help  should  be 
given  intelligently  and  systematically.  Injudicious  and  im¬ 
pulsive  almsgiving  is  little  less  than  criminal.  The  initial 
step  in  all  relief  work  should  be  investigation  of  each  case. 
Second,  on  the  basis  of  facts  uncovered  by  the  investigator, 
a  plan  of  aid  should  be  worked  out  which  will  help  the 
applicant  to  help  himself.  Third,  reconstruction  is  essen¬ 
tially  a  spiritual  process.  By  friendly  visiting  and  personal 
interest  the  discouraged  person  or  family  must  be  brought 
into  a  spirit  of  faith  and  hopefulness.  The  power  to  carry 
cheer  and  win  the  confidence  of  the  poor  is  more  essential 
to  a  social  worker  than  money. 

The  relief  work  of  the  church  will  be  directed  toward 
two  classes  of  poor:  those  who  are,  and  those  who  are  not, 
members  of  the  church.  To  the  former,  the  church  is  under 
a  special  obligation  to  provide  all  that  is  necessary  for  their 
care,  as  has  been  pointed  out  previously.  In  the  case  of 
the  latter,  the  obligation  of  the  church  is  shared  by  the 
whole  community,  and  the  church  should  cooperate  with 
other  organizations  in  caring  for  them. 

The  word  “cooperate”  should  be  emphasized  heavily  in 
community  relief.  It  is  very  common  to  find  charitably 
disposed  persons  and  organizations  contributing  to  de¬ 
pendency  by  helping,  independently  of  each  other,  the  same 
families  without  knowledge  of  what  other  agencies  are 
doing.  This  is  especially  likely  to  happen  in  a  large  com¬ 
munity  at  festival  seasons  of  the  year.  The  moral  effect  of 
such  haphazard  charity  upon  the  poor  is  worse  than  the 
poverty  which  it  is  supposed  to  relieve.  Vagrancy  becomes 
more  profitable  than  labor,  and  many  drift  into  beggary 
as  a  profession.  All  this  implies  that  the  pastor  shall  dis¬ 
cover  what  relief  agencies  are  at  work  in  the  community  and 
establish  working  relations  with  them;  and  that  he  shall 
discourage  well-intentioned  but  wholly  inefficient  methods 


194 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


of  relief  by  the  church  itself,  such  as  ostentatious  distribu¬ 
tions  to  the  poor  at  Christmas  and  Thanksgiving. 

The  standing  committee  on  service  should  supervise  all 
the  relief  work  of  the  church  and  should  be  the  medium  by 
which  the  church  cooperates  with  every  other  agency, 
private  and  public,  in  meeting  its  total  community  obliga¬ 
tions. 

e.  Vice  and  Delinquency.  As  no  community  is  free  from 
poverty,  so  there  is  none,  however  small  or  remote  from 
populous  centers,  that  is  free  from  vice.  In  the  larger  towns 
and  cities  it  may  be  strong  enough  to  defy  the  law.  In 
villages  and  the  open  country  it  may  be  clandestine  and  give 
little  sign  of  its  presence.  But  wherever  human  beings  as¬ 
sociate  together  in  large  or  small  numbers  immorality  al¬ 
ways  appears.  Every  community  has  its  wild  boy,  and  its 
vicious  man ;  its  incorrigible  girl  and  its  immoral  woman ; 
and  some  have  thousands  of  them. 

Every  important  study  of  this  subject  in  recent  years  has 
reached  the  conclusions  that  the  great  causes  of  vice  are 
social  rather  than  personal,  that  wayward  boys  and  girls 
are  the  victims  more  than  they  are  the  enemies  of  the  com¬ 
munity.  Behind  their  delinquency  appear  poverty,  lack 
of  parental  care,  confused  family  situations,  degenerate 
parentage,  ignorance,  neglect  by  the  school  and  the  church, 
and  neglect  by  the  community  which  has  failed  conspicu¬ 
ously  to  provide  wholesome  recreation,  supervision,  and 
instruction,  and  which  has  handed  over  its  youth,  question¬ 
ing,  adventurous,  emotional,  to  commercial  interests  hostile 
to  youth. 

The  solution  of  this  problem  involves  at  least  three  things : 
( i )  suppression  of  the  evil,  (e)  the  reconstruction,  physi¬ 
cal  and  moral,  of  its  victims,  and  (j)  the  restriction  of  sup- 
ply  of  fresh  victims.  This  division  of  labor  is  very  clear 
to  thought,  but  in  actual  practice  one  type  of  work  shades 
imperceptibly  into  another.  In  abating  these  evils  there  is 
need  of  the  fullest  cooperation  of  all  persons  who  have 
responsibilities  therewith.  Such  persons  are  parents,  teach- 


THE  LOCAL  COMMUNITY 


195 


ers,  ministers,  social  workers,  physicians,  the  press,  and 
municipal  officials. 

The  work  of  suppressing  vice  when  it  has  become  fla¬ 
grant  falls  properly  to  the  administrative  and  court  officials 
of  the  community,  who  are  under  oath  to  enforce  the  law. 
The  militant  type  of  minister  is  sometimes  tempted  to  be¬ 
come  an  unofficial  policeman  with  a  view  of  making  himself 
a  terror  to  evildoers.  This  temptation  is  especially  strong 
if  he  is  morally  certain  that  there  is  an  alliance  between  the 
police  officials  and  the  underworld.  Occasionally  a  minister 
has  rendered  a  real  service  by  this  kind  of  work.  As  a 
rule,  however,  such  experiments  have  accomplished  little 
except  to  furnish  the  community  with  a  brief  sensation  in 
watching  the  fevered  antics  of  a  “fighting  parson.”  Often 
it  ends  disastrously  for  the  minister  who,  inexperienced 
in  the  ways  of  corruption,  becomes  involved  in  embarrassing 
situations  created  for  him  by  the  forces  opposed  to  him. 
It  is  equally  unwise  for  the  ministers  of  a  community  to 
denounce  officers  on  hearsay  evidence  for  failure  to  enforce 
the  laws. 

The  best  contribution  which  the  minister  can  make  toward 
the  suppression  of  vice  is  to  become  acquainted  with  re¬ 
sponsible  officials  and  go  to  them  privately  whenever  he 
feels  that  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  law  is  not 
being  enforced,  stating  his  grievance  and  citing  the  reason 
therefor.  This  will  not  give  a  congregation  any  oratorical 
thrills,  but  generally  it  will  make  a  favorable  impression 
upon  the  officer.  If  it  should  be  necessary,  go  again,  this 
time  with  a  group  of  influential  citizens,  encouraging  him 
to  do  his  duty  and  assuring  him  of  the  support  of  the  best 
elements  in  the  community  if  he  will  enforce  the  law.  If 
he  does  a  good  thing  that  calls  for  courage,  speak  of  that 
in  the  public  congregation.  But  criticism  is  not  justified 
unless  it  is  absolutely  certain  that  the  law  is  being  openly 
violated  and  that  the  proper  officials  will  not  do  what  the 
majority  of  people  want  them  to  do.  If  they  do  not  en¬ 
force  the  law,  it  is  because  they  believe  the  community  does 


196 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


not  care  to  have  its  laws  enforced.  Create  a  body  of  public 
opinion,  however,  demanding  law  enforcement,  and  they 
will  have  great  regard  for  their  oath  of  office.  If  it  should 
seem  necessary  for  the  minister  as  a  private  citizen  to  pro¬ 
ceed  against  the  vicious  elements,  let  him  organize  around 
himself  a  group  of  other  citizens  and  let  the  action  of  the 
whole  group  be  guided  by  their  best  collective  wisdom. 

The  duty  of  the  minister  in  the  matter  of  reconstructing 
lives  that  have  been  broken  by  vice  is  fairly  clear.  The 
futility  of  the  ordinary  raid  on  places  of  evil  repute  is  that 
it  does  not  put  out,  but  only  scatters  the  fire  throughout  the 
community.  Sound  social  policy  demands  that  the  victims 
and  purveyors  of  vice  shall  be  seized,  not  for  punishment 
but  for  treatment.  What  purpose  is  served  by  arresting  a 
prostitute,  assessing  a  heavy  fine  upon  her,  and  then  dis¬ 
charging  her  to  prey  once  more  upon  the  community,  scat¬ 
tering  loathsome  physical  and  moral  contamination  wher¬ 
ever  she  goes?  Again,  what  purpose  is  served  in  seizing 
immoral  women  while  the  men,  who  make  them  what  they 
are,  move  among  their  fellows  with  perfect  liberty  ?  Ob¬ 
viously,  every  person,  man  or  woman,  who  has  contracted  a 
venereal  disease,  innocently  or  sinfully,  is  so  great  a  menace 
to  the  community  that  he  should  be  held  for  medical  treat¬ 
ment.  Physicians  should  be  required  by  law  to  report  every 
such  case,  and  the  community  should  provide  hospitals  and 
other  institutions  where  regeneration  of  body  and  soul  may 
be  accomplished. 

The  minister  can  render  an  indispensable  service  in  this 
connection  by  creating  an  intelligent  public  opinion  con¬ 
cerning  this  matter,  and  helping  remove  the  popular  igno¬ 
rance  and  prejudice  which  now  obstructs  enlightened  action. 
In  an  American  city  of  more  than  a  quarter  million  of  peo¬ 
ple,  an  appropriation  was  long  since  made  for  the  construc¬ 
tion  of  a  hospital  for  venereal  disease  but  it  is  impossible 
to  proceed  further  because  no  section  of  this  city  wants 
such  an  institution  in  its  midst. 

The  same  method  should  be  followed  in  dealing  with 


THE  LOCAL  COMMUNITY 


197 


juvenile  delinquency.  To  arrest  repeatedly  wayward  boys 
and  girls  only  to  punish  them  in  ways  that  will  confirm  them 
in  their  delinquency,  is  the  greatest  social  folly.  They 
should  be  put  under  instruction  and  in  an  environment  that 
is  designed  to  redeem  them  from  their  sin.  If  the  com¬ 
munity  does  not  provide  such  institutions,  the  church  must 
awaken  it  to  a  sense  of  its  obligation. 

The  restriction  of  the  supply  of  victims  depends  more 
largely  upon  educational  than  repressive  means  employed 
by  police  officers.  Dr.  Prince  A.  Morrow,  in  his  treatise  on 
Social  Diseases  and  Marriage ,  speaks  very  positively  con¬ 
cerning  this  matter :  “The  true  remedy,  the  most  effective 
remedy  available  to  modify  or  lessen  the  appalling  evils, 
moral  and  physical,  which  flow  from  venereal  diseases  is 
the  general  dissemination  of  knowledge  respecting  the 
dangers  and  modes  of  contagion  of  these  diseases.  It  is  by 
the  persuasive  force  of  enlightenment,  by  combating  the 
dense  ignorance  which  prevails  among  the  laity,  especially 
among  the  young,  upon  whom  the  incidence  of  these  dis¬ 
eases  most  heavily  falls,  that  these  evils  can  be  diminished.” 
The  United  States  government  instituted  a  great  propa¬ 
ganda  during  the  Great  War  to  inform  soldiers  and  civilians 
of  the  dangers  of  sexual  immorality,  and  in  cooperation 
with  State  Boards  of  Health  through  their  Educational  De¬ 
partments  continues  its  fight  on  vice  by  instruction  con¬ 
cerning  vice. 

The  church  can  throw  itself  into  this  educational  work 
with  the  greatest  enthusiasm,  for  no  program  of  religious 
education  can  be  called  complete  which  overlooks  sex  hy¬ 
giene.  It  may  cooperate  with  physicians  and  government 
officials  in  spreading  a  wholesome  knowledge  of  sex-life 
and  of  the  train  of  evil  consequences  that  follows  the  irregu¬ 
lar  indulgence  of  sexual  appetites.  But  its  distinctive  appeal 
will  be  to  moral  and  spiritual  motives.  It  will  be  less  ap¬ 
palled  by  what  vice  does  to  the  body  than  to  the  soul  of  a 
man.  It  will  remind  the  youth  of  the  community  that  the 
body  is  the  temple  of  God,  and  this  temple  must  not  be  de- 


198 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


filed.  It  will  urge  the  control  of  a  single  standard  of  morals 
for  both  sexes.  It  will  appeal  to  men  and  women  to  keep 
themselves  pure  against  the  day  of  marriage  that  the  next 
generation  may  not  be  handicapped  by  an  evil  inheritance, 
physical  or  moral.  And  it  will  urge  the  spiritual  dynamic 
that  religion  affords  for  personal  discipline  and  self-con¬ 
trol  in  the  moment  of  temptation.  The  methods  to  be  em¬ 
ployed  in  promoting  this  instruction  should  be  carefully 
determined  by  conference  with  the  wisest  physicians,  social 
workers,  teachers,  and  parents  in  the  community. 

/.  Politics.  It  is  one  of  the  principles  of  democratic  gov¬ 
ernment  in  America  that  state  and  church  shall  be  inde¬ 
pendent  each  of  the  other.  Some  have  inferred  from  this 
that  the  church  must  have  nothing  to  do  with  politics.  No 
such  inference  is  warranted.  Separate  though  they  are,  the 
functions  of  the  church  and  the  government  are  identical 
within  broad  limits,  and  while  each  must  respect  the  inde¬ 
pendence  and  importance  of  the  other,  there  should  be  the 
fullest  cooperation  between  them  in  realizing  their  com¬ 
mon  aims.  Moreover,  the  church  is  composed  of  citizens 
of  the  commonwealth  who  must  give  political  expression  to 
their  moral  and  religious  ideals.  Their  prayers  are  not  to  be 
canceled  but,  rather,  answered  by  their  votes.  The  church 
that  is  in  “political  exile”  is  already  smitten  by  death. 

The  nature  of  the  political  service  to  be  rendered  gener¬ 
ally  by  the  church  is  determined  by  the  demand  of  a  demo¬ 
cratic  government  for  a  favorable  public  opinion.  This 
demand  is  as  great  as  that  of  the  lungs  for  air.  Neither  a 
“bad”  nor  a  “good”  government  long  can  function  in  the 
absence  of  popular  support.  The  church  is  one  of  the  great 
agencies  for  creating  public  opinion.  Its  independence  of 
state  control  makes  it  possible  to  criticize  as  well  as  support 
the  administration.  Whether  it  shall  censure  or  approve 
will  depend  upon  the  regard  which  the  administration  has 
for  policies  that  are  admittedly  ethical.  It  will  insist  that 
the  state  is  under  the  control  of  morality,  and  the  very  es¬ 
sence  of  Christian  morality  is  to  serve  the  highest  welfare 


THE  LOCAL  COMMUNITY 


199 


of  the  many  rather  than  the  selfish  interests  of  the  few. 
The  church,  speaking  unitedly,  can  thus  make  it  “politically 
safe  for  a  man  occupying  a  high  public  position  to  perform 
his  duties  fearlessly”  and  also  “politically  unsafe  for  any 
public  official  to  be  false  to  his  trust.” 

But  mere  criticism  of  a  bad  administration  is  not  suf¬ 
ficient  to  secure  good  government.  We  sweep  our  political 
house  clean  to  little  purpose  unless  care  is  taken  to  obtain 
proper  tenants  thereafter.  These  tenants,  that  is,  office¬ 
holders,  are  selected  primarily  by  small  political  groups  and 
ultimately  by  the  ballots  of  voting  citizens,  and  good  gov¬ 
ernment  waits  upon  the  wise  use  of  these  agencies  by  good 
citizens.  Because  the  membership  of  the  church  represents 
every  political  view,  the  church  cannot  indorse  partisan 
programs.  More  fundamental  to  good  government  than 
party  platforms  is  the  ethical  obligation  of  its  members  ir¬ 
respective  of  party  affiliations  to  see  to  it  that  good  men 
are  nominated  for  office  on  every  ticket.  When  a  great 
moral  issue  is  involved  it  may  be  necessary  for  the  churches 
to  form  a  special  organization  through  which  they  can 
function.  The  Anti-Saloon  League  is  a  conspicuous  ex¬ 
ample  of  the  church  acting  politically.  The  method  em¬ 
ployed  generally  by  this  organization  was  to  secure  the 
nomination  of  the  best  citizens  by  all  parties  rather  than 
enter  the  field  as  a  “third”  party.  The  conspicuous  success 
of  this  method  in  securing  constitutional  prohibition  should 
commend  its  use  in  other  great  reforms. 

It  is  the  business  of  the  church  to  make  good  citizens, 
and  every  program  of  religious  education  should  provide 
for  training  in  civic  matters.  That  excellent  little  book, 
The  Church  School  of  Citizenship ,  by  Professor  Allan  Ho- 
ben,  is  rich  in  suggestion  as  to  ways  in  which  this  training 
can  be  given  through  church  agencies  to  children,  adolescent 
youths,  and  adults,  in  rural  as  well  as  urban  communities. 
The  approach,  of  course,  will  be  from  the  ethical  and  re¬ 
ligious  points  of  view. 

g.  Education.  According  to  an  old  definition,  the  essen- 


200 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


tial  meaning  of  education  is  ‘‘to  draw  out”  the  undeveloped 
capacities  of  the  young.  Ideally  it  has  to  do  with  the  total 
personality — the  physical,  the  mental,  the  volitional,  and  the 
emotional  powers.  In  every  American  community  the  edu¬ 
cational  task  is  divided  irrationally  between  the  state  and 
the  church,  the  former  being  restricted  to  the  physical  and 
cultural  aspects  of  the  task,  the  latter  to  the  moral  and  re¬ 
ligious  phases.  The  state  may  teach  the  child  to  think,  the 
church  is  supposed  to  teach  him  to  trust.  The  state  may 
make  him  strong  and  alert,  and  the  church  is  to  make  him 
good.  It  is  not  strange  that  some  young  Americans  feel 
that  religion  has  nothing  to  do  with  knowledge  and  power. 

This  division  of  labor,  regrettable  as  it  is,  at  least  leaves 
us  in  no  doubt  about  the  contribution  which  is  expected 
from  the  church  to  this  community  interest.  It  must  give 
itself  most  enthusiastically  to  that  part  of  the  educational 
task  which  the  state  leaves  untouched. 

But  it  is  under  an  obligation  also  to  cooperate  with  every 
other  educational  force  in  the  community.  One  thing  that 
can  be  done  is  to  make  such  an  interpretation  of  religion 
as  will  not  deny  the  science  that  is  taught  in  the  schools. 
Another  would  be  to  offer  courses  in  biblical  subjects  which 
conform  to  the  public-school  standards,  so  that  credit  may 
be  given  for  this  work  by  the  public  schools,  after  the  so- 
called  “North  Dakota”  and  “Colorado”  plans.  Yet  another 
would  be  to  cooperate  with  other  churches  in  establishing 
“Community  Night  Schools  of  Religious  Education”  and 
“Vacation  Bible  Schools.”  Such  schools  can  be  started  by 
two  churches  as  well  as  by  a  dozen.  In  a  community  where 
educational  ideals  are  low  and  public  school  equipment  is 
inferior,  the  church  can  develop  a  public  opinion  that  will 
support  the  demand  for  better  things.  One  country  pastor 
in  Illinois  agitated  for  four  years  for  a  township  high 
school  and  at  length  got  it. 

h.  Health.  Good  health  is  yet  another  great  community 
interest.  Once  more  the  chief  contribution  Which  the 
average  church  can  make  to  this  matter  is  educational. 


THE  LOCAL  COMMUNITY 


201 


Physicians  are  teaching  people  how  to  keep  themselves 
strong,  and  the  church  can  cooperate  with  this  teaching 
program  by  securing  competent  persons  to  address  special 
groups  and  classes  on  the  subject  of  personal  and  com¬ 
munity  hygiene.  Moreover,  it  can  support  by  its  gifts  local 
hospitals  and  dispensaries  for  the  care  of  the  stricken.  In 
exceptional  instances  it  may  be  that  the  church  itself  may 
establish  a  hospital  department. 

Finally,  it  will  be  in  order  for  the  church  to  emphasize 
the  curative  value  of  a  genuine  religious  faith,  as  has  been 
suggested  in  the  first  chapter  of  this  book. 

Books  Recommended  for  Further  Study 

SOCIAL  INTERPRETATION  OF  RELIGION 

Walter  Rauschenbusch,  Christianity  and  the  Social  Crisis ;  Chris¬ 
tianizing  the  Social  Order;  A  Theology  for  the  Social  Gospel. 

Charles  Ellwood,  The  Social  Problem;  Reconstruction  in  Religion. 

Committee  Report,  Federal  Council  of  Churches,  The  Church 
and  Industrial  Reconstruction. 

E.  A.  Ross,  Sin  and  Society. 

W.  N.  Clarke,  The  Ideal  of  Jesus. 

R.  H.  Tawney,  An  Acquisitive  Society. 

H.  F.  Ward,  Social  Evangelism;  The  Social  Creed  of  the 
Churches. 

H.  S.  Coffin,  In  a  Day  of  Social  Rebuilding. 

RECREATION 

R.  H.  Edwards,  Christianity  and  Amusements. 

H.  S.  Curtis,  Education  Through  Play;  Play  and  Education. 

Rural  and  Small  Community  Recreation,  by  “Community  Serv¬ 
ice,”  i  Madison  Avenue,  New  York. 

Joseph  Lee,  Play  in  Education. 

N.  E.  Richardson,  The  Church  at  Play. 

Warren  T.  Powell,  Recreational  Leadership  for  Church  and 
Community. 

LaPorte,  A  Handbook  of  Games  and  Programs  for  Church 
School  and  Home. 

Jane  Addams,  The  Spirit  of  Youth  and  the  City  Streets. 

INDUSTRY 

J.  A.  Hobson,  Incentives  in  the  New  Industrial  Order. 

Walter  Rauschenbusch,  Christianizing  the  Social  Order. 


202 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


Committee  Report,  Federal  Council  of  Churches,  Church  and 
Industrial  Reconstruction. 

Harry  F.  Ward,  The  New  Social  Order:  Principles  and  Pro¬ 
grams. 

POVERTY 

E.  T.  Devine,  Misery  and  Its  Causes;  Principles  of  Relief;  Prac¬ 
tice  of  Charity. 

H.  F.  Ward,  Poverty  and  Wealth. 

Robert  Hunter,  Poverty. 

John  Spargo,  The  Bitter  Cry  of  the  Children. 

THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  COMMUNITY 

P.  M.  Strayer,  Reconstruction  of  the  Church. 

W.  M.  Tippy,  The  Church  a  Commuyiity  Force. 

R.  B.  Guild,  Community  Programs  for  Cooperating  Churches. 

R.  E.  Diffendorfer,  The  Church  and  the  Community. 

Walter  Burr,  Rural  Organization. 

J.  M.  Barker,  The  Social  Gospel  and  the  New  Era. 

E.  L.  Earp,  The  Rural  Church  Serving  the  Community;  Rural 
Social  Organization. 

Warren  H.  Wilson,  The  Church  at  the  Center. 

Richard  Morse,  Fear  God  in  Your  Own  Village. 

L.  H.  Bailey,  Country  Life  Movement  in  the  United  States. 

E.  deS.  Brunner,  Country  Church  in  the  New  World  Order. 

K.  L.  Butterfield,  Country  Church  and  the  Rural  Problem. 

T.  N.  Carver,  Principles  of  Rural  Economics. 

P.  L.  Vogt,  Introduction  to  Rural  Sociology;  Church  Cooperation 
in  Community  Life. 

Fred  B.  Fisher,  The  Way  to  Win,  Chapter  III. 

A.  F.  McGarrah,  Practical  Inter-Church  Methods. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 


THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  SERVICE 
The  World  Community 

The  service  of  the  church  may  never  stop  at  the  geo¬ 
graphical  boundaries  of  its  immediate  neighborhood.  Its 
sympathy  and  helpfulness  must  go  out  to  all  men  every¬ 
where.  This  is  required  by  the  great  Head  of  the  church 
who  himself  came  to  redeem  a  world  community.  “God 
so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son.” 
Practical  expediency,  however,  would  impel  the  church  to 
become  missionary  even  if  there  were  no  specific  direction 
from  its  Master.  Saint  Paul  likened  the  church  to  an  or¬ 
ganism,  the  human  body,  and  declared  that  when  any  part 
suffered,  the  whole  body  suffered  with  it.  This  figure  is 
quite  as  applicable  to  society  as  to  the  church.  The  Great 
War  through  which  we  have  just  passed  emphasized  afresh 
the  fact  of  social  solidarity.  Modern  inventions,  such  as  the 
steamboat,  the  telegraph,  the  submarine  cable,  the  tele¬ 
phone,  the  aeroplane,  make  it  impossible  for  any  social 
group  to  live  in  isolation.  Whatever  happens  anywhere  is 
of  immediate  consequence  everywhere.  Opportunities  for 
friction  and  misunderstanding  have  been  multiplied  a  thou¬ 
sandfold.  It  is  inconceivable  that  society  can  hold  together 
if  the  old  selfishness  continues  to  dominate  the  life  of  the 
world.  Further  advance  in  civilization  waits  upon  the 
creation  of  a  larger  body  of  good  will  than  now  obtains. 
And  the  church  itself,  which  is  a  part  of  society,  will  be  in¬ 
volved  in  the  general  catastrophe  that  must  certainly  follow 
a  refusal  to  bring  the  world  community  under  the  control 
of  Christian  ideals. 

This  world  community  begins  where  the  local  community 
leaves  off.  It  ends  only  with  the  last  person  in  the  utter- 

203 


204 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


most  parts  of  the  earth.  That  portion  of  the  world  com¬ 
munity  which  lies  within  the  United  States  is  generally 
called  home-missionary  territory,  and  that  lying  outside 
the  homeland  is  designated  as  the  foreign-missionary  field. 
But  it  is  all  one  service.  We  cannot  choose  between  them. 
We  are  bound  to  minister  to  both. 

The  primary  aim,  of  course,  in  all  mission  work  is  to 
teach  the  religion  of  Jesus  and  apply  the  saving  power  of 
his  gospel  to  all  the  ranges  of  life.  This  requires  not  only 
the  maintenance  of  a  corps  of  evangelists  in  the  mission 
field  but  the  establishment  of  educational  institutions,  med¬ 
ical  dispensaries,  homes,  hospitals,  and  trained  technicians 
of  all  kinds,  such  as  agriculturalists,  chemists,  biologists, 
engineers.  Ultimately  the  purpose  includes  the  Christian¬ 
ization  of  all  social,  industrial,  and  international  relation¬ 
ships. 

To  serve  the  world  community  the  church  must  provide 
(i)  workers  and  (2)  money.  The  administrative  problem 
consists  of  devising  means  to  awaken  such  missionary  in¬ 
terest  in  the  church  that  there  will  be  no  lack  either  of 
persons  willing  to  invest  their  lives  in  this  service,  or  of 
equipment  to  permit  them  to  serve  effectively.  And  this 
interest  must  be  permanent,  not  spasmodic.  It  should  he 
such  as  to  make  every  member  of  the  church  an  intelligent 
missionary,  in  spirit  and  intention,  though  possibly  not  en¬ 
gaged  professionally  in  missionary  service.  This  is  the 
problem  of  the  important  subcommittee  on  missions  of  the 
great  Committee  on  Service,  which  must  “unite  and  cor¬ 
relate  every  parish  interest  which  pertains  to  the  propaga¬ 
tion  of  the  gospel  at  home  and  abroad.” 

1.  Interest  in  any  matter  that  is  sustained  and  abiding 
must  rest  upon  knowledge.  The  first  great  item  in  the  mis¬ 
sionary  program  of  the  local  church,  then,  will  be  “Mission¬ 
ary  Education !’ 

a.  There  are  several  institutions  through  which  this  edu¬ 
cational  work  may  be  accomplished  in  the  average  church 
— (1)  The  Woman’s  Home  Missionary  Society  and  sub- 


THE  WORLD  COMMUNITY 


205 


sidiary  organizations  among  the  young  people,  such  as  the 
Queen  Esther  Circle,  Home  Guards,  etc.;  (2)  the  Woman’s 
Foreign  Missionary  Society  and  subsidiary  organizations, 
such  as  The  King's  Daughters,  Little  Light  Bearers,  etc. ; 
(3)  the  Sunday  school,  which,  according  to  the  law  of  the 
church,  must  be  organized  as  a  missionary  society;  (4)  the 
Epworth  League,  with  its  Department  of  Missions;  (5) 
the  organized  Bible  Class;  and  (6)  the  pulpit.  It  will  appear 
at  a  glance  that  it  is  unnecessary  to  set  up  any  new  organ¬ 
izations  for  this  task.  The  real  problem  with  so  many 
collaborating  institutions  is  that  of  coordinating  and  dis¬ 
tributing  the  work  so  that  there  will  no  waste  or  needless 
duplication  of  effort. 

b.  The  materials  of  missionary  education  consist  of  (1) 
historical  matter  concerning  the  great  periods  of  missionary 
expansion  in  the  growth  of  the  Christian  Church,  beginning 
with  the  story  of  the  early  church  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apos¬ 
tles;  (2)  biographies  of  great  missionary  leaders;  (3) 
habits,  customs,  history,  and  ideals  of  races  and  national 
groups  which  are  the  objects  of  missionary  endeavor;  (4) 
the  social  aspects  of  mission  work  as  appears  in  its  influence 
on  education,  science,  industry,  and  politics;  (5)  the  study 
of  particular  mission  fields  and  current  events  in  those 
fields;  (6)  the  great  non-Christian  religions  of  the  world, 
for  example,  Buddhism,  Mohammedanism,  Taoism,  Shinto¬ 
ism,  Confucianism,  etc. ;  with  particular  reference  to  the 
points  at  which  they  resemble,  and  differ  from,  Christianity ; 
(7)  the  theory  and  practice  of  missions,  explaining  the  great 
policies  adopted  by  mission  boards  and  the  methods  gen¬ 
erally  employed  in  missionary  endeavor;  (8)  the  history 
and  success  of  the  more  important  Protestant  mission 
boards.  The  Missionary  Education  Department  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  150  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York 
city,  will  be  glad  to  suggest  suitable  textbooks  on  these  sub¬ 
jects,  such  as  have  been  issued  from  time  to  time  by  the 
Missionary  Education  Movement  of  American  Protes¬ 
tantism. 


2  o6 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


c.  The  methods  which  have  been  employed  successfully  in 
many  churches  in  presenting  this  great  body  of  material 
include  the  following:  (i)  Sermons,  lectures  and  ad¬ 
dresses  by  the  pastor  and  other  informed  persons,  particu¬ 
larly  missionaries  engaged  actively  in  the  home  field  or  re¬ 
turned  on  furlough  from  the  foreign  field;  (2)  the  dis¬ 
tribution  of  missionary  literature  and  periodicals;  (3)  the 
organization  of  mission  study  classes;  (4)  creating  a  mis¬ 
sionary  atmosphere  by  hanging  on  the  walls  of  the  church 
the  pictures  of  persons  who  have  gone  out  from  its  mem¬ 
bership  into  professional  religious  work  as  ministers,  dea¬ 
conesses,  foreign  missionaries,  etc.;  (5)  correspondence 
with  these  and  other  workers  in  the  field;  (6)  amateur 
theatricals  and  pageants  dealing  with  missionary  subjects; 
(7)  institutes  and  conferences. 

d.  A  unified  program  of  missionary  education  might  have 
some  such  appearance  as  this,  taking  into  account  the  or¬ 
ganizations,  the  materials,  and  the  methods  that  are  usually 
available : 

I.  Sermons,  Addresses,  Stereopticon  Lectures 

1.  The  Pulpit,  once  each  quarter. 

2.  The  Sunday  school,  once  a  month  if  possible. 

3.  The  Epworth  League  from  four  to  six  times  a  year. 

4.  The  Woman’s  Organizations  as  frequently  as  can 

be  arranged. 

II.  Study  Classes,  conducted  by  the  following  organizations, 

no  two  covering  the  same  subject  or  appealing  to 
the  same  group : 

1.  Woman’s  Home  Missionary  Society. 

2.  Woman’s  Foreign  Missionary  Society. 

3.  The  Epworth  League. 

4.  The  Sunday  school,  in  all  departments  taking  cer¬ 

tain  Sundays  for  missionary  lessons. 

Note.  Competent  leadership  is  all  important.  It  is 
better  to  have  one  class  with  a  strong  leader  than  several 


THE  WORLD  COMMUNITY 


20  7 


led  indifferently.  The  best  results  are  secured  when  the 
class  can  meet  weekly,  perhaps  in  connection  with  the  mid¬ 
week  service. 

III.  Missionary  Literature 

1.  Distributing  such  free  literature  as  may  be  pre¬ 

pared  by  the  benevolent  boards  of  the  church. 

2.  Subscribing  for  church  papers  and  missionary 

periodicals  and  textbooks. 

3.  Calling  attention  occasionally  to  important  articles 

and  books  on  mission  subjects  and  fields,  pub¬ 
lished  by  the  secular  press. 

IV.  Entertainments,  Pageants,  etc. 

Two  or  three  each  year  given  cooperatively  by  the  young 
people  of  the  church  who  are  members  of  several  mission¬ 
ary  organizations. 

e.  The  aim  of  all  true  missionary  education  is  to  produce 
the  “ missionary  person,”  one  who  is  filled  with  the  mission¬ 
ary  spirit.  This  spirit  will  express  itself  in  many  ways. 
Such  a  person  will  always  pray  for  missions.  Intercessory 
prayer  has  ever  been  a  most  important  factor  in  extending 
the  Kingdom. 

Again,  the  “missionary  person”  will  always  give  himself 
— his  time,  and  thought,  and  service — up  to  the  full  measure 
of  his  ability.  A  good  program  of  missionary  education 
should  keep  a  stream  of  people  going  from  the  strong  to  the 
weaker  churches  in  a  spirit  of  helpfulness.  More  particu¬ 
larly,  it  should  develop  a  corps  of  volunteer  workers  for 
distinctly  home  missionary  tasks.  The  type  of  missionary 
interest  that  becomes  enthusiastic  over  the  Chinese  in 
Peking  but  despises  the  representatives  of  that  same  race 
who  populate  our  American  “Chinatowns,”  may  well  be 
suspected  of  unreality.  Genuine  missionary  interest  seizes 
upon  the  opportunity  that  lies  nearest  at  hand.  And  out  of 
the  many  who  are  willing  to  engage  in  part-time  service, 
an  occasional  young  man  or  woman  will  be  prompted  to 


208 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


consecrate  a  whole  life  to  this  special  task.  Always  the 
pastor  and  lay  leaders  of  the  church  should  be  alert  to  ad¬ 
vise  and  encourage,  or  to  restrain,  perhaps,  such  young 
people. 

Finally,  the  “missionary  person”  will  give  of  his  means 
to  make  it  possible  for  others  to  do  what  he  cannot  do — 
give  his  whole  time  to  missionary  work.  The  subcommittee 
on  missions  will  seek  constantly  to  increase  the  missionary 
giving  of  the  church.  This  matter  of  finances  will  receive 
more  attention  in  a  later  chapter  devoted  to  that  subject. 

It  appears,  then,  that  the  program  for  recruiting  and 
giving  must  be  supplemented  by  another  program  of  mis¬ 
sionary  education,  and  the  two  articulated  into  a  single 
great  world  program : 

Missionary  Recruiting  and  Giving 

I.  Prayer 

1.  Individual  prayer  for  missions. 

2.  Organizing  bands  of  intercessors. 

II.  Recruiting 

1.  Life  service  conferences  in  the  local  church  and  at 

summer  institutes. 

2.  Constant  attention  by  the  pastor  and  others  to 

the  matter  of  personal  guidance  in  life-work  de¬ 
cisions. 

III.  Giving 

1.  Stewardship  Campaigns. 

2.  Financial  canvass  for  support  of  the  Benevolent 

Boards  of  the  church. 

3.  Supporting  the  mission  work  of  local  organiza¬ 

tions. 

Books  Recommended  for  Further  Study 

H.  P.  Douglass,  The  New  Home  Missions. 

R.  E.  Diffendorfer,  Missionary  Education  in  Home  and  School. 


THE  WORLD  COMMUNITY 


209 


Louise  Creighton,  Missions:  Their  Rise  and  Development. 

E.  C.  Moore,  The  Spread  of  Christianity  in  the  Modern  World. 
George  A.  Miller,  Missionary  Morale. 

A.  J.  Brown,  Rising  Churches  in  Non-Christian  Lands. 

J.  E.  McAfee,  World  Missions  from  the  Home  Base. 

C.  H.  Patton,  World  Facts  and  America’s  Responsibility. 

E.  W.  Capen,  Sociological  Progress  in  Mission  Lands. 

W.  H.  P.  Faunce,  The  Social  Aspects  of  Foreign  Missions. 

R.  E.  Speer,  Missionary  Principles  and  Practice;  The  Gospel  and 
the  New  World. 

Fred  B.  Fisher,  The  Way  to  Win,  Chapter  IV. 


CHAPTER  XIX 


THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  FINANCE 

As  an  administrative  officer  the  pastor  must  give  faithful 
attention  to  church  finance.  This  cannot  be  left  entirely 
to  the  laymen.  He  will  not  be  officious  or  dictatorial,  nor 
will  he  assume  entire  responsibility  for  raising  the  budget. 
But  he  should  know  the  exact  financial  condition  of  the 
church  every  month  and  be  ready  with  helpful  suggestions 
concerning  a  wise  financial  policy.  If  the  money  is  to  be 
used  for  spiritual  ends,  then  money-raising  is  quite  as  re¬ 
ligious  as  preaching. 

If  American  churches  find  difficulty  in  managing  their 
finances  generally,  it  is  not  because  the  members  of  the 
churches  are  poor.  “Probably  not  more  than  two  or  three 
per  cent  of  the  churches  secure  all  the  funds  they  should  in 
order  to  perform  their  duties,”  says  one  expert  in  church 
finance.  “According  to  the  religious  census  of  1906,  in¬ 
vestments  in  church  property  in  America  are  less  than  one 
per  cent  of  the  national  wealth,  and  the  annual  income  of 
American  churches  for  buildings,  equipment,  salaries,  and 
all  other  purposes  equals  scarcely  one  per  cent  of  the  na¬ 
tional  income.”1  Nor  is  it  because  they  are  unwilling.  The 
United  Presbyterian  denomination  is  composed  chiefly  of 
small  churches,  many  of  them  located  in  rural  communities 
and  the  open  country,  but  their  average  giving  is  $20.90 
per  member,  including  the  children.  In  Iowa  they  averaged 
over  $30  per  member  in  1914.  We  have  a  right  to  assume 
that  they  are  not  at  heart  more  devoted  than  the  members 
of  other  communions. 

The  more  common  embarrassments  in  church  finance  are 

^cGarrah,  Modern  Church  Finance,  p.  27k  By  permission  of 
Fleming  H.  Revell  Company. 


210 


FINANCE 


21 1 


(i)  delay  in  paying  salaries  and  current  bills,  thus  annoy¬ 
ing  the  minister  and  other  creditors ;  (2)  the  accumulation 
of  deficits  year  after  year  until  the  total  is  overwhelming; 
(3)  many  separate  appeals  for  money,  in  public  and  in 
private;  (4)  dependence  upon  socials  and  entertainments 
to  raise  funds  that  should  be  contributed  outright  by  the 
church  membership;  (5)  the  expectation  that  a  few  persons 
in  the  church  shall  assume  obligations  that  should  be  dis¬ 
tributed  throughout  the  whole  body;  (6)  careless  handling 
of  funds,  making  possible  great  waste  and  loss  through  in¬ 
accurate  bookkeeping,  or  failure  to  audit  accounts  annually ; 
(7)  inadequate  budget  through  lack  of  vision  and  parsi¬ 
mony;  (8)  the  major  obligations,  missionary  and  benevo¬ 
lent,  of  the  church  as  a  whole  made  impossible  of  attain¬ 
ment  through  the  competitive  solicitation  of  funds  by  minor 
organizations  within  the  church;  (9)  complacency  over  past 
achievements  and  unwillingness  to  give  up  to  the  level  of 
real  ability;  (10)  the  apologetic  spirit  in  which  money  mat¬ 
ters  are  approached  before  the  congregation ;  ( 1 1 )  no  single 
individual  responsible  for  the  purchase  of  supplies;  (12) 
no  financial  secretary  to  receive  moneys  before  they  are 
handed  over  to  the  treasurer;  (13)  the  diversion  of  funds 
contributed  for  one  purpose  but  used  for  another.  In  the 
light  of  all  this,  success  in  church  finance  must  imply  :2 

(1)  The  honest  and  prompt  payment  of  all  bills  and  obli¬ 

gations. 

(2)  Avoiding  deficits  and  debts. 

(3)  Adopting  budgets  that  are  sufficiently  ample  to  be 

truly  economical. 

(4)  Securing  funds  by  methods  that  are  both  Christian 

and  business-like. 

(5)  Democracy  in  giving. 

(6)  Handling  all  moneys  in  business-like  ways. 

(7)  And  raising  all  that  should  be  raised. 


Summarized  from  A.  F.  McGarrah,  Modern  Church  Finance,  pp. 
11-18.  By  permission  of  Fleming  H.  Revell  Company. 


212 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


i.  The  Committee  on  Finance.  Responsibility  for 
working  out  a  sound  financial  policy  rests  upon  the  Finance 
Committee.  The  Discipline  requires  that  this  committee 
shall  consist  of  from  three  to  seven  persons.  It  is  customary 
to  make  the  financial  secretary  and  the  treasurers  members 
because  they  are  better  informed  usually  on  financial  con¬ 
ditions  in  the  church  than  others.  The  pastor  should  meet 
with  them  frequently  in  an  advisory  capacity.  The  duties 
of  the  committee  are  stated  very  definitely:  (i)  Before  the 
close  of  the  fiscal  year  it  shall  “prepare  an  estimate  of  the 
current  expenses  and  benevolences  for  the  ensuing  year. 
This  estimate  shall  include  the  amount  necessary  for  min¬ 
isterial  support,  viz. :  pastor’s  salary  and  house  rent,  dis¬ 
trict  superintendent,  bishops,  and  Conference  claimants ; 
also  the  amount  deemed  necessary  for  current  expenses, 
such  as  interest  on  indebtedness,  heat  and  light,  music,  in¬ 
surance,  repairs  and  supplies,  telephone,  printing  and  post¬ 
age,  janitor,  and  miscellaneous  items;  also  for  benevolences 
as  apportioned  to  each  charge  by  the  Committee  on  Con¬ 
servation  and  Advance.  (2)  When  approved  by  the  official 
board  or  Quarterly  Conference,  immediate  steps  shall  be 
taken  by  a  personal  canvass  of  the  entire  membership  of 
the  church  and  congregation  to  secure  pledges  to  meet  these 
expenses  by  weekly  payments,  so  that  the  result  may  be 
known  on  the  last  Sunday  of  the  fiscal  year,  and  payment 
of  these  pledges  begin  on  the  first  Sunday  of  the  new  fiscal 
year.”3  Moreover,  the  General  Conference  has  prescribed  a 
plan,  in  great  detail,  for  raising  these  budgets,  which  has 
been  approved  by  the  experience  of  many  denominational 
bodies  over  a  period  of  many  years.  It  is  substantially  the 
plan  described  at  length  in  McGarrah’s  Modern  Church 
Finance,  and  any  finance  committee  that  will  work  this 
plan  exactly  as  set  forth  in  the  Discipline 4  will  be  happy 
over  the  results.  Time  would  fail  one  to  tell  of  half  the 


8See  Discipline  (1920),  If  112,  §2. 
*Id.,  H  hi. 


FINANCE 


213 


churches  which  have  been  rejuvenated  by  this  all  but  per¬ 
fect  device. 

2.  Preparing  the  Budgets.  In  preparing  the  budgets, 
the  committee  should  not  ask,  “How  little  can  we  get  along 
with  this  year?”  but,  “How  much  should  we  raise  in  order 
that  the  church  may  be  able  to  do  all  its  work  creditably 
and  effectively  ?”  Moreover,  the  total  budget  should  always 
be  large  enough  to  tax  the  church  to  something  like  its  full 
capacity  if  spiritual  results  are  to  come  from  giving.  A 
church  composed  of  wealthy  people  should  probably  average 
from  $50  to  $100  per  member,  including  children.  A  church 
of  modest  means  should  average  from  $20  to  $40  for  all 
purposes. 

a.  The  Local  Budget.  The  first  item  in  the  local  budget 
will  be  pastoral  support,  which  includes  the  claim  not  only 
for  the  pastor  and  his  associate,  if  there  be  one,  but  also 
those  for  the  support  of  the  bishops,  the  district  superin¬ 
tendent,  and  the  Conference  claimants.  The  obligation  re¬ 
quires  that  all  these  claims  be  fully  met.  Any  deficit  must 
be  shared  proportionately  by  all.  Every  year,  if  possible 
to  do  so  in  justice  to  other  demands,  a  church  should  in¬ 
crease  the  pastor’s  salary.  The  largest  salaries  are  only 
sufficient  to  permit  a  standard  of  living  that  is  enjoyed  by 
most  of  the  people  in  the  church.  And  many,  many  minis¬ 
ters  receive  less  each  year  than  carpenters  and  blacksmiths. 
The  inferior  preaching  in  some  pulpits  is  due  to  the  fact 
that  the  minister’s  income  does  not  permit  of  anything  but 
the  narrowest  range  of  experience.  He  cannot  enrich  his 
mind  by  travel,  or  even  by  books,  for  he  is  unable  to  pur¬ 
chase  them.  The  church  that  will  take  these  things  into 
account  in  estimating  the  salary  will  find  itself  abundantly 
rewarded  in  the  increased  effectiveness  of  its  pastor.  More¬ 
over,  the  committee  should  ask  itself  if  the  pastor  should  not 
be  relieved  of  a  load  of  burdensome  details  in  keeping 
church  records  and  attending  to  other  small  matters  that 
could  be  performed  by  a  secretary  or  clerk.  Is  it  wise 
economy  to  pay  a  pastor  a  good  salary  and  then  expect  him 


214 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


to  do  work  that  another  will  do  quite  as  well  for  eighteen 
or  twenty  dollars  per  week? 

Fuel ,  light ,  repairs,  music,  supplies,  printing,  insurance, 
are  other  fixed  charges  that  necessarily  appear  against  the 
local  budget.  It  is  impossible  for  those  responsible  for  the 
expense  items  to  estimate  some  of  these  exactly,  because 
prices  change  and  consumption  varies  from  year  to  year. 
But  the  average  for  a  period  of  three  or  five  years  may  be 
taken  as  a  safe  guide. 

Interest  charges  on  borrowed  money  must,  of  course,  be 
provided  for,  and  if  there  is  a  debt,  the  easiest  way  to  pay 
it  is  to  insert  a  substantial  sum  each  year  into  the  budget 
for  its  gradual  reduction. 

To  avoid  a  number  of  appeals  later  in  the  year  from 
other  committees  and  organizations  for  their  special  work, 
the  Finance  Committee  would  do  well  to  ask  from  each  a 
careful  estimate  of  the  amount  needed  to  carry  on  its  work. 
Then  an  appropriation  can  be  made  for  each  organization, 
and  the  members  of  the  church  may  be  asked  fairly  to  give 
to  the  church  budget  as  much  as  they  have  been  in  the  habit 
of  giving  for  all  purposes.  This  is  particularly  true  of  the 
Sunday  school,  whose  expenses  should  be  borne  by  the 
church  and  whose  gifts  should  be  made  to  the  church 
budget  rather  than  independently  of  it.  And  to  guard  the 
treasury,  the  Finance  Committee  should  insist  that  a  single 
individual  shall  be  “purchasing  agent”  for  all  supplies 
bought  in  the  name  of  the  church,  and  his  approval  neces¬ 
sary  to  the  payment  of  bills.  In  this  way  the  control  of  ex¬ 
pense  and  income  may  be  unified,  and  also  appeals  for  funds. 
It  will  make  for  clear  understanding  if,  in  estimating  the 
expense  for  the  coming  year,  the  actual  expenditures  for 
the  current  year  and  the  year  preceding  be  noted  in  parallel 
columns.  In  this  way  the  subscribers  can  tell  at  a  glance 
where  the  budget  has  expanded  and  contracted.  A  detailed 
estimate  of  receipts  should  accompany  the  estimate  of  ex¬ 
penditures. 

In  establishing  the  limits  of  a  fiscal  year,  it  is  usually 


FINANCE 


215 


better  to  select  October  1,  January  1,  April  1,  or  July  1, 
than  “Conference  time,”  which  is  a  movable  date. 

After  the  budget  has  been  prepared  with  great  care,  it 
should  be  submitted  and  explained  to  the  official  board  for 
their  adoption. 

The  local  budget  for  a  church  of  500  to  800  members  will 
appear  somewhat  as  follows  :5 

BUDGET  OF  LOCAL  EXPENSES  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL 

CHURCH 

Estimated  Expenditures 
For  the  Fiscal  Year  Beginning  October  1,  1923. 


Pastoral  Support  (Pastor, 

1921 

1922 

1923 

Increase^ 

Dist.  Sup.  Bishops,  Conf. 

Decrease- 

Cl.)  . 

$3,390 

$3,390 

$3,590 

$200+ 

Secretarial  Help . 

600 

600+ 

Janitor  . 

720 

720 

720 

Janitor  Supplies . 

So 

60 

50 

10- 

Fuel  and  Light . 

620 

620 

620 

Music  . 

1,200 

1,200 

800 

400- 

Insurance  . 

75 

75 

75 

Repairs  . 

800 

2,000 

500 

1,500- 

Printing,  Postage,  etc . 

425 

425 

425 

Telephone  . 

60 

60 

60 

Interest  . 

900 

750 

750 

Reduction  of  Debt . 

2,500 

2,500 

2,500+ 

Telephone  . 

60 

60 

60 

Sunday-school  . 

900 

900 

900 

Miscellaneous  . 

300 

300 

300 

Total  . 

$12,000 

$10,560 

$11,950 

$1,390+ 

Estimated  Receipts 

Expectation  from,  unpaid,  1922,  pledges .  $600 

Pledges  renewable  at  10  per  cent  increase .  9,750 

Pledges  from  new  members .  1,000 

From  Sunday-school  for  local  Budget .  750 

Total  . $12,100 


‘See  McGarrah,  op.  cit for  suggestions, 


2l6 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


The  budget  for  a  church  of  250  to  300  members  would 
probably  be  somewhat  as  follows : 


Estimated  Expenditures 


For  the  Fiscal  Year  Beginning  October  1,  1923. 


1921 

1922 

1923 

Increase^ 

Decrease- 

Pastoral  Support . 

. .  $2,360 

$2,470 

$2,583 

$113+ 

Clerical  Help . 

100 

150 

50+ 

Janitor  . 

300 

300 

300 

Fuel  and  Light . 

250 

250 

250 

Insurance  . 

50 

50 

50 

Music  . 

100 

100 

Repairs  . 

300 

500 

200+ 

Printing,  postage,  etc _ 

100 

100 

100 

Interest  . 

350 

300 

250 

50- 

Reduction  of  Debt . 

1,000 

1,000 

Sunday-school  . 

400 

400 

450 

5<* 

Miscellaneous  . 

200 

200 

Total  . 

..  $5,7io 

$5,570 

$5,933 

$363+ 

Needed  to  pay  all  bills  $114.11  each  week. 

Estimated  Receipts 

Weekly  pledges  from 

5  members  at  $3.00  per  week . $15.00 


10 

99 

99 

2.00 

99 

99 

15 

99 

99 

I  .00 

99 

99 

.  15-00 

15 

99 

99 

•75 

99 

99 

.  11.25 

40 

99 

99 

.50 

99 

99 

60 

99 

99 

•25 

99 

99 

.  15-00 

30 

99 

99 

.20 

99 

99 

25 

99 

99 

.10 

99 

99 

.  2.50 

$104.75 


From  the  Sunday-school  for  local  expenses...  5.00 

Expectation  from  unpaid  pledges,  19 22,  average 

per  week .  5.00 


Total 


$114.75 


b.  The  Benevolent  Budget  is  somewhat  simpler,  the  items 
being  received,  for  the  most  part,  from  the  district  super¬ 
intendent,  It  includes  (1)  the  Apportioned  Benevolences 


FINANCE 


217 


ordered  by  the  Committee  on  Conservation  and  Advance  for 
the  support  of  the  great  boards  of  the  General  Church;  (2) 
the  apportionments  ordered  by  the  Annual  Conference  for 
educational  and  philanthropic  work  within  the  Conference ; 

(3)  the  benevolences  ordered  by  the  Official  Board  of  the 
local  church  for  the  support  of  community  enterprises,  such 
as  City  Missions,  Educational  Institutions,  Anti-Saloon 
League,  Associated  Charities,  etc. 

It  will  relieve  the  pastor  of  much  embarrassment  often  if 
the  official  board  will  adopt  a  rule  that  no  public  appeal 
shall  be  made  from  the  pulpit  for  funds  without  the  con¬ 
sent  of  the  board. 

The  items  in  this  budget  should  be  set  forth  in  orderly 
fashion  and  added  to  the  local  budget.  The  total  will  be 
the  amount  which  must  be  raised  by  the  congregation  dur¬ 
ing  the  year.  Ideally  the  Benevolent  Budget  should  equal 
the  Local  Budget.  “As  much  for  others  as  ourselves ” 
At  least  half  of  the  gift  from  the  Sunday  school  should  be 
credited  to  the  Benevolent  Budget. 

3.  The  Financial  Plan.  There  are  six  features  in  the 
financial  plan  recommended  by  the  General  Conference,  and 
each  is  indispensable.  (See  Discipline.) 

a.  Education.  After  the  two  budgets  have  been  approved 
by  the  official  board,  a  campaign  of  education  covering  a 
month  should  be  instituted  for  the  purpose  of  informing 
the  membership  accurately  concerning  them,  the  reasons  for 
enlargements,  and  the  plan  adopted  for  raising  the  money. 
The  methods  usually  employed  in  this  educational  work  are : 

(1)  Form  Letters  sent  to  all  members  setting  forth  es¬ 
sential  facts  briefly.6 

(2)  Church  Bulletins  where  such  are  printed. 

(3)  Full  explanation  from  the  pulpit. 

(4)  Special  dinners  and  social  gatherings. 

(5)  And  instruction  in  Christian  Stewardship  and  Sys¬ 
tematic  Giving  throughout  the  year. 


8See  McGarrah,  Modern  Church  Finance ,  for  good  sample  letters. 


2l8 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


After  the  plan  has  once  been  put  into  operation,  the  edu¬ 
cational  work  will  be  less  arduous  in  succeeding  years. 

b.  Every-M ember  Canvass,  (i)  Canvassers  are  selected 
from  among  the  most  capable  men  and  women  in  the  church, 
and  in  sufficient  numbers  that  no  one  will  need  to  visit  more 
than  twenty  persons,  fewer,  if  possible.  After  careful  train¬ 
ing  they  make  their  own  pledges — then  go  two  by  two  to 
every  member  of  the  church,  securing  a  subscription  from 
each,  children  as  well  as  parents.  It  is  an  “every-member” 
— not  an  “ e very-family”  canvass. 

(2)  It  is  generally  best  to  limit  the  canvass  to  a  short 
period,  preferably  between  certain  hours  on  a  given  Sunday 
afternoon.  The  members  of  the  church  will  expect  the 
visitors  and  be  prepared  to  make  their  pledges  without  much 
argument.  Many  congregations  give  a  sacramental  charac¬ 
ter  to  the  canvass  by  commissioning  the  canvassers  in  a 
season  of  prayer  at  the  altar  of  the  church  in  the  morning 
service  preceding  the  canvass.  Of  course  such  persons  as 
cannot  be  seen  on  the  day  set  apart  will  be  visited  as  soon 
thereafter  as  possible. 

(3)  In  distributing  the  names  of  persons  to  be  solicited 
it  is  generally  well  to  permit  the  canvassers  to  select,  as 
far  as  possible,  those  whom  they  can  approach  most  easily. 
The  remainder  may  be  assigned  arbitrarily.  The  name  of 
each  prospective  giver  should  be  placed  upon  a  card  con¬ 
taining  the  amount  paid  the  preceding  year  and  the  amount 
that  the  committee  feels  may  reasonably  be  expected  on 
the  new  budget.  This  is  given  the  canvasser  for  his  in¬ 
formation.  It  is  not  an  apportionment — merely  a  sug¬ 
gestion. 

c.  Weekly  Offering.  The  pledge  is  a  weekly  pledge  to  be 
divided  between  the  Local  and  the  Benevolent  Budgets  ac¬ 
cording  to  the  wish  of  the  giver. 

d.  Envelope  System.  Each  subscriber  is  provided  with  a 
set  of  fifty-two  duplex  envelopes  which  he  is  expected  to  use 
in  paying  his  pledge  week  by  week.  These  can  be  secured 
from  The  Methodist  Book  Concern. 


FINANCE 


219 


e.  Two  Budgets  and  Two  Treasurers.  To  avoid  con¬ 
fusion  and  diversion  of  funds,  the  official  board  is  asked  to 
elect  two  treasurers,  one  for  the  Local  and  the  other  for  the 
Benevolent  Budget.  Moreover,  a  financial  secretary  is  to  be 
chosen  who  shall  receive  all  moneys,  keeping  an  accurate 
account  with  each  subscriber,  then  turning  the  moneys  over 
to  the  respective  treasurers,  receiving  their  receipts  there¬ 
for.  Thus  church  funds  are  handled  in  a  businesslike 
manner.”  The  treasurers  shall  pay  out  this  money  by  check 
and  only  on  the  authority  of  the  Finance  Committee  or  the 
official  board. 

f.  Monthly  or  Quarterly  Remittance.  The  Apportioned 
Benevolences  should  be  sent  each  month  or  each  quarter 
to  the  Committee  on  Conservation  and  Advance.  This  will 
make  it  possible  to  reduce  the  interest  charges  of  the  several 
boards.  Other  benevolences  should  be  sent  directly  to  ex¬ 
ecutive  officers  of  the  respective  beneficiary  organizations, 
or  deposited  with  the  Conference  Treasurer,  by  the  pastor, 
at  the  next  session  of  the  Annual  Conference. 

Books  Recommended  for  Further  Study 

A.  F.  McGarrah,  Modern  Church  Finance. 

F.  A.  Agar,  Modern  Money  Methods;  Church  Finance. 

F.  B.  Fisher,  The  Way  to  Win,  Chapter  VIII. 

Discipline,  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  1920. 


CHAPTER  XX 


CHURCH  RECORDS 

An  important  part  of  the  work  of  administration  is  to 
keep  accurate  records  of  all  transactions.  In  a  great  de¬ 
partment  store  every  sale,  however  small,  is  recorded  in 
such  detail  that,  years  after,  the  management  can  quickly 
discover  the  nature  of  the  sale,  the  date,  and  the  clerk  who 
made  it.  All  that  comes  in  and  goes  out  is  carefully  checked 
— whether  goods,  cash,  or  employees — so  that  at  the  end  of 
the  year  everything  and  everyone  is  accounted  for.  Only 
by  giving  attention  thus  to  accurate  accounting  is  it  possible 
to  carry  on  any  organized  business.  While  this  is  being 
written,  a  man,  reputed  two  years  ago  to  be  a  multimillion¬ 
aire,  is  going  into  bankruptcy  in  Chicago  unexpectedly  to 
himself!  He  says  he  thought  he  was  making  money  until 
a  few  weeks  ago.  This  ignorance  on  his  part  is  due  pri¬ 
marily  to  his  failure  to  keep  proper  records. 

Ideally,  the  local  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  is  sup¬ 
posed  to  have  a  good  accounting  department.  “Are  the 
church  records  properly  kept?”  is  an  inquiry  made  annually 
in  the  Quarterly  Conference.  A  Committee  on  Church 
Records  is  appointed  and  required  to  report  annually  on 
the  condition  of  all  record  books  (not  financial)  of  each 
organization  in  the  church.  Furthermore,  an  Auditing 
Committee  is  required  to  audit  the  accounts  of  all  financial 
officers.  But  these  seldom  function  or  tell  the  whole  truth 
when  they  do  attempt  to  discharge  their  duties.  So  “church 
records”  have  come  to  be  a  symbol  for  confusion  and  un¬ 
intelligibility.  Church  reports  and  statistics  can  almost 
never  be  taken  at  their  face  value.  If  the  State  were  to  call 
for  such  an  accounting  from  religious  organizations  as  is 
demanded  of  banks  and  life-insurance  companies,  the  com¬ 
munity  is  rare  indeed,  that  would  escape  without  an  eccle- 

220 


CHURCH  RECORDS 


221 


siastical  scandal.  Such  carelessness  puts  a  sore  temptation 
in  the  way  of  church  officers  charged  with  the  care  of 
church  money.  And  to  be  careless  in  accounting  for  the 
people  intrusted  to  the  church  is  a  greater  sin ! 

The  General  Conference  of  1920  gave  careful  considera¬ 
tion  to  records,  and  approved  certain  forms  for  Quarterly 
Conference  and  official-board  business.  The  official  board 
is  responsible  for  (1)  church  members,  and  (2)  church 
funds.  The  pastor  represents  them  in  caring  for  the  former, 
and  the  financial  secretary  and  two  treasurers  for  the  latter. 
And  the  General  Conference  is  very  clear  about  the  kind  of 
records  that  are  to  be  kept  by  every  such  officer  in  any 
Methodist  Church.  No  better  investment  of  money  can  be 
made  than  to  secure  from  the  nearest  depository  of  The 
Methodist  Book  Concern  these  new  forms  if  they  are  not 
already  in  use  in  the  local  church. 

1.  Records  to  be  Kept  by  the  Pastor. 

a.  A  Permanent  Membership  Roll  which  constitutes  the 
fundamental  record  of  personnel.  The  names  should  be  ar¬ 
ranged  alphabetically  and  grouped  by  families.  The  only 
way  this  record  can  be  kept  up-to-date  without  rewriting 
frequently  is  to  use  a  loose-leaf  book.  A  page  should  be 
given  to  each  name,  the  lower  part  providing  for  the  names 
of  other  members  of  the  family.  In  case  of  death  or  re¬ 
moval,  the  leaf  can  be  taken  out  of  the  active  list  and  rein¬ 
serted  in  the  same  book  under  the  guide  “ Removed or 
“Died.”  The  data  should  be  very  full,  including  head  of 
family ;  occupation ;  business  address ;  telephone  number, 
family  and  Christian  names ;  state  in  life ;  official  position  in 
the  church;  when,  how,  where  received;  when,  how,  where 
removed;  other  members  of  family;  baptized  children; 
birthday  (if  under  2 1);  organizations  in  which  active,  as 
Sunday  school,  Epworth  League,  W.  F.  M.  S.,  W.  H. 
M.  S.,  etc.  This  roll  should  contain  the  list  of  preparatory 
and  nonresident  members  as  well  as  those  in  full  resident 
membership. 


222 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


b.  Card  Index. — Membership  and  Constituency  Roll. 
The  permanent  loose-leaf  roll  is  not  practicable  for  daily 
reference.  A  card  index  should  be  prepared  containing  the 
names  of  full  members ,  probationers,  and  constituents. 
Cards  of  different  colors  may  be  used  for  different  classi¬ 
fications,  for  example,  full  members,  white;  probationers, 
yellow ;  constituents,  blue.  This  index  will  be  in  use  con¬ 
stantly  in  pastoral  and  evangelistic  work.  It  also  has  great 
value  as  a  “mailing  list ”  for  circularizing  the  church.  The 
data  may  be  much  less  full  than  on  the  permanent  roll,  in¬ 
cluding  only  such  facts  as  are  especially  useful  in  everyday 
work  and  experience — full  name,  residence  and  business  ad¬ 
dresses,  telephone  number,  organizations  in  which  the  indi¬ 
viduals  are  shown  to  be  active,  official  relation,  for  example, 
steward,  trustee,  president  Ladies’  Aid,  teacher  in  Sunday 
school,  etc. 

c.  Historical  Record.  Certain  matters  of  permanent  in¬ 
terest,  not  provided  for  above,  should  be  recorded  in  a 
bound  volume  of  board  covers.  This  book  should  contain 
(i)  A  history  of  the  local  organization,  brought  up  to  date 
annually;  (2)  A  record  of  pastors  and  terms  of  service; 

(3)  The  official  members  from  the  time  of  organization; 

(4)  The  statistical  and  benevolent  reports  made  yearly  to 
the  Annual  Conference;  (5)  Baptisms;  (6)  Marriages; 
and  (7)  Deaths. 

d.  Calling  List.  In  addition  to  the  card  index,  the  pastor 
should  have  a  “street  list”  of  members  and  constituents  in 
compact  form  which  he  carries  with  him  constantly.  This 
should  be  revised  frequently  and  left  with  his  successor  on 
removing  from  the  charge. 

2.  Official  Board  Records. 

a.  Record  Book  for  Secretary  of  the  Official  Board  con¬ 
taining  full  minutes  of  all  actions  by  the  board. 

b.  Record  Books  for  Secretaries  of  Boards  of  Trustees 
and  Stewards,  respectively,  when  separately  organized, 
containing  full  minutes  of  proceedings. 


CHURCH  RECORDS 


223 


c.  Financial  Secretary's  Record ,  containing  (1)  Detailed 
weekly  account  with  each  individual  subscriber  to  the  two 
budgets,  and  a  (2)  Weekly  summary  of  cash  received  on 
subscriptions  and  special  collections,  and  deposited  with 
the  two  treasurers. 

d.  Record  of  the  Treasurer  of  Benevolences  should  con¬ 
tain  ( 1 )  The  amounts  apportioned  for  the  several  causes ; 

(2)  Cash  received,  source  and  purpose;  (3)  Cash  disbursed, 
and  vouchers  for  the  same ;  (4)  Blanks  for  yearly  report 
to  the  Annual  Conference  with  carbon  copies  for  perma¬ 
nent  record. 

e.  Record  of  Treasurer  of  Local  Expense  Fund  should 
contain  (1)  Cash  received  from  subscriptions  and  special 
collections;  (2)  Cash  disbursed,  and  warrants  for  same; 

(3)  Ledger  accounts  with  the  pastor,  district  superinten¬ 
dent,  janitor,  and  others  as  necessary;  (4)  Monthly  sum¬ 
mary  and  report. 

3.  Sunday-School  Records. 

Great  variety  is  found  in  the  matter  of  Sunday-school 
records.  A  large  school,  closely  graded  by  departments  and 
classes,  will  necessarily  work  out  a  system  of  accounting 
more  complicated  than  is  desirable  for  a  small  school.  It 
would  appear,  however,  that  the  following  records  are  essen¬ 
tial  in  any  school  if  people  and  money  are  to  be  accounted 
for  satisfactorily: 

a.  Sunday-School  Secretary — 

(1)  Permanent  Register  in  which  every  new  member  is 
enrolled  on  joining  the  school,  containing  name,  address, 
date  of  birth,  date  of  enrollment. 

(2)  Card  Index  of  officers,  teachers,  and  pupils,  arranged 
alphabetically  by  departments  and  classes,  with  fuller  data 
than  is  asked  for  in  permanent  register,  such  as  members  of 
church;  baptized;  attendance  (by  month  or  quarter)  ;  par¬ 
ents  or  other  members  of  family ;  activities,  when,  why,  and 
how  removed,  etc. 

(3)  Class  Books  containing  names  of  teachers  and  each 


224 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


member  of  the  several  classes  to  mark  attendance,  collec¬ 
tion,  study  of  lesson,  etc. 

(4)  Summaries  of  attendance  and  collections  by  week, 
month,  quarter,  and  year. 

b.  Sunday-School  Treasurer — 

(1)  Weekly  Record  of  cash  received  by  classes. 

(2)  Cash  disbursed — warrants  and  vouchers  for  same. 

4.  Other  Organizations. 

The  Secretaries  of  other  organizations,  such  as  the  Ep- 
worth  League,  Ladies’  Aid  Society,  and  the  Women’s  Mis¬ 
sionary  Societies,  should  keep  ( 1 )  accurate  membership  rec¬ 
ords  of  their  respective  organizations  and  (2)  complete 
minutes  of  all  meetings.  These  should  be  submitted  to  the 
Committee  on  Church  Records  for  inspection  each  year. 

The  Treasurers  of  these  organizations  should  keep  care¬ 
ful  records  of  all  moneys  received  and  disbursed  by  them, 
and  submit  their  accounts  to  the  Auditing  Committee  of  the 
official  board  annually,  as  well  as  reporting  to  their  own 
organizations.  For  the  official  board  has  responsibility  for 
their  oversight  by  virtue  of  the  fact  that  all  these  organ¬ 
izations  have  representation  in  that  body. 

Note:  The  necessary  books  and  supplies  are  all  obtain¬ 
able  from  The  Methodist  Book  Concern,  150  Fifth  Avenue, 
New  York  city. 


CHAPTER  XXI 


CHURCH  PUBLICITY 

Those  engaged  professionally  in  the  advertising  business 
complain  that  they  are  unable  to  overcome  the  conservatism 
of  the  church  as  to  publicity.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
church  for  many  centuries  has  practiced  publicity  diligently. 
The  church  spire,  setting  the  church  building  apart  from 
all  others  in  the  community  and  visible  from  afar,  has  been 
for  centuries  an  excellent  device  for  advertising  religion ; 
and  the  cross  on  the  spire  and  the  gable-ends  commonly  sug¬ 
gests  certain  denominational  viewpoints  in  religion. 

The  most  that  can  be  said  truthfully  is  that  the  church 
is  only  conservative  in  adopting  certain  new  methods  of 
publicity.  The  inertia  of  an  old  and  established  institution 
is,  in  part,  responsible;  in  other  part,  it  is  due  to  the  control 
of  an  old  ideal  in  all  the  great  professions  that  disapproves 
undue  self-assertion  on  the  part  of  professional  workers 
in  attracting  attention  to  themselves.  It  is  not  quite  obvious 
that  the  bizarre  methods  employed  in  getting  a  certain 
brand  of  chewing-gum  or  cigarettes  before  the  nation  are  in 
good  taste  for  lawyers,  physicians,  and  ministers.  A  news¬ 
paper  may  shamelessly  declare  itself  “the  Greatest  News¬ 
paper  in  the  World,”  but  such  a  legend  emblazoned  above 
the  door  of  the  church  is  so  at  variance  with  the  spirit  of 
humility  as  to  arouse  the  suspicion  that  the  church,  through 
pride  and  self-conceit,  has  ceased  to  be  Christian.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  professional  worker  must  believe  in  his 
cause  or  he  will  never  succeed.  Self-confidence  is  indis¬ 
pensable,  so  long  as  it  stops  short  of  egotism.  And  he  must 
find  a  way  to  establish  new  personal  contacts,  thus  widening 
the  range  of  acquaintance.  All  this  applies  to  the  church 
and  the  minister  as  certainly  as  to  medicine  and  the  physi- 

225 


226 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


cian.  It  would  be  stupid  for  any  religious  worker  to  say, 
“I  do  not  believe  in  publicity.”  But  a  wise  man  will  be 
cautious  about  the  publicity  methods  which  he  employs. 

No  final  answer  can  be  made  to  the  question,  “What  is 
legitimate?”  Whatever  will  appeal  to  the  imagination  of 
the  community,  without  cheapening  religion  or  offending 
good  taste,  is  in  order.  But  communities  differ  greatly  in 
their  standards  touching  such  matters.  Moreover,  a  man 
must  be  true  to  himself,  doing  nothing  that  will  harm  his 
self-respect.  This  implies  that  he  must  constantly  examine 
the  motive  that  actuates  him  in  his  desire  for  publicity. 
Does  he  seek  a  crowd  for  a  crowd’s  sake?  to  gratify  his 
conceit?  or  is  he  honestly  desirous  of  reaching  unselfishly 
a  larger  number  of  people  for  the  good  he  can  do  them? 
Within  these  limits  the  largest  liberty  must  be  accorded 
ministers  and  churches. 

It  is  quite  possible  that  in  another  twenty-five  years 
churches  generally  will  employ  devices  which  now  are  used 
only  by  a  very  few.  Let  it  be  said,  however,  that  modern 
advertising  has  become  almost  an  art.  And  one  who  con¬ 
templates  the  use  of  new  methods  should  read  many  volumes 
on  the  general  subject  before  committing  himself  to  a  unique 
program  of  publicity.  And  he  should  read  everything  that 
has  been  written  by  the  pioneers  in  these  methods  as  applied 
to  churches.  The  more  helpful  volumes  will  be  found  listed 
at  the  close  of  this  chapter. 

But  the  publicity  methods  which  are  most  open  to  criti¬ 
cism  are  probably  least  valuable  for  the  work  of  the  church. 
After  all  such  are  eliminated,  there  remains  a  multitude  of 
devices  which  are  generally  approved,  whose  power  does  not 
derive  from  novelty  and  is  not  affected  by  frequent  repe¬ 
tition.  And  every  pastor  should  use  them  in  his  work. 

i.  Well-Kept  Church  Property.  The  condition  of 
the  building  and  grounds  always  advertises  the  church, 
sometimes  for  better  and  sometimes  for  worse !  Some  con¬ 
gregations  would  find  new  people  coming  to  their  services  if 
they  would  only  spend  a  little  money  on  paint  and  keep 


CHURCH  PUBLICITY 


227 


the  lawn  well  watered  and  neatly  trimmed.  And  an  at¬ 
tractive  exterior  must  be  matched  by  a  clean  and  inviting 
interior.  The  stranger  in  the  community  instinctively  feels 
that  a  church  which  keeps  its  property  in  good  condition 
probably  has  other  worth-while  ideals.  On  the  contrary,  if 
the  first  impression  made  by  the  property  be  one  of  untidi¬ 
ness  and  general  decay,  he  does  not  expect  much  helpfulness 
from  its  spiritual  ministry.  Experience  too  often  justifies 
this  estimate. 

2.  A  Bulletin  Board.  A  bulletin  board  on  the  outside 
of  the  church  is  a  useful  publicity  device,  provided  it  is 
neat  in  its  appearance  and  announces  simply  and  briefly  the 
services  to  be  held,  together  with  the  name  and  address  of 
the  pastor.  One  that  is  in  need  of  paint  or  repair,  or  on 
which  the  announcements  are  hastily  scrawled  with  crayon, 
is  of  questionable  value.  If  an  announcement  is  worth 
making,  it  should  be  made  in  such  fashion  as  to  attract — 
not  repel.  Many  churches  in  recent  years  post  a  “wayside 
sermon,”  consisting  of  a  single  short  sentence,  on  their  bul¬ 
letins,  thus  rendering  a  helpful  ministry  by  dropping  a  great 
thought  into  the  minds  of  those  who  read. 

3.  Worth-While  Services.  No  church  has  a  right  to 
large  numbers  in  its  congregation  unless  it  is  doing  every¬ 
thing  in  its  power  to  make  the  services  worth  while.  By 
novel  publicity  methods  it  may  be  possible  to  induce  people 
to  enter  the  church  for  a  single  service,  but  if  they  get 
nothing,  they  will  not  return  a  second  time,  be  the  publicity 
agent  ever  so  clever.  “Have  something  of  value  to  adver¬ 
tise  before  you  advertise,”  is  a  word  of  caution  needed  by 
many  congregations  and  ministers.  To  conduct  their  serv¬ 
ices  of  worship  more  skillfully  and  make  them  more  dyna¬ 
mic,  to  improve  the  quality  of  their  educational  work,  to 
give  Christian  fellowship  more  significance  would  be  the 
finest  possible  “ad”  for  many  congregations. 

4.  Printing.  The  printer’s  art  can  be  of  great  help  in 
spreading  information  about  the  work  of  the  church. 

a.  A  congregation  which  can  afford  it  should  publish  a 


228 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


“ weekly  calendar ”  containing  all  announcements  for  the 
next  week.  It  is  better  than  making  oral  announcements, 
for  the  calendar  may  be  taken  home  for  reference.  It 
should  be  paid  for,  as  is  true  of  all  printed  matter  issued 
by  the  church,  out  of  the  church  treasury  and  never  con¬ 
tain  anything  except  church  news.  No  official  board  should 
permit  the  pastor  or  any  organization  in  the  church  to  so¬ 
licit  advertisements  with  the  view  of  compelling  the  business 
men  to  bear  the  cost  of  such  publications.  This  is  a  de¬ 
liberate  exploitation  of  commercial  institutions,  and  it  is 
disastrous  for  worship.  While  the  minister  attempts  to  lead 
the  minds  of  the  congregation  in  prayer,  the  bulletin,  thus 
prostituted  to  secular  ends,  is  reminding  them  where  they 
may  secure  groceries  and  clothing  most  cheaply. 

b.  Paid  “display  ads ”  in  the  newspapers  are  becoming 
increasingly  common.  The  writing  of  them  so  as  to  be  im¬ 
pressive  is  a  difficult  matter. 

c.  Better  than  these  are  “news  letters”  about  the  churches 
of  the  community,  which  the  editors  are  glad  to  publish 
frequently  without  cost  if  prepared  by  a  minister  who 
knows  how  to  write  newspaper  English. 

d.  For  special  meetings  or  unusual  occasions,  zvindow 
cards  are  valuable. 

e.  Neatly  printed  invitations  sent  through  the  mails  or 
carried  by  church  visitors  to  individuals  make  a  good  im¬ 
pression  generally.  The  mechanical  work  of  all  printed 
matter  issued  by  the  church  should  be  excellent  and  oil 
good  paper. 

5.  Personal  Touch.  The  most  valuable  publicity  is 
that  which  costs  nothing — the  commendation  of  those  who 
are  pleased  with  what  they  have  found.  This  is  personal 
and  voluntary.  When  the  members  of  the  church  express 
spontaneously  great  happiness  in  the  fellowship  and  wor¬ 
ship  of  their  church,  that  church  will  have  congregations 
whether  they  employ  unique  methods  of  advertising  or  not. 
Let  church  members  form  the  habit  of  talking  their  church 
up — not  down.  It  will  always  be  possible  to  find  some  fault 


CHURCH  PUBLICITY 


229 


if  one  is  so  disposed;  but,  on  the  contrary,  there  is  nearly 
always  more  to  commend  than  condemn  if  we  choose  to 
find  it. 

a.  Pastoral  visiting.  The  systematic  visitation  of  all 
persons  on  the  membership  and  constituency  rolls  of  the 
church  by  the  pastor  is  a  very  fine  method  of  publicity,  to 
say  no  more  concerning  it.  It  suggests  that  the  chief  leader 
of  the  church  is  personally  interested  in  the  people  of  the 
community,  and  makes  an  irresistible  appeal.  However 
large  the  membership,  and  however  many  paid  workers 
there  may  be  on  the  ministerial  staff,  every  pastor  should 
“visit  from  house  to  house.” 

b.  Personal  Canvass.  An  organized  canvass  of  the  com¬ 
munity  for  persons,  similar  to  a  canvass  for  money,  in 
which  members  of  the  church  carry  invitations  to  other 
persons,  individually,  is  immensely  rewarding. 

c.  Letter-writing.  The  writing  of  letters,  where  calls 
cannot  be  made,  will  often  serve  equally  well. 

d.  Telephone.  A  pastor  in  Denver  had  his  church  so 
perfectly  organized  by  the  “Unit  System”  (though  not  a 
Methodist  church)  that  by  using  the  telephone,  the  whole 
constituency  could  be  informed  of  any  important  matter  in 
two  hours,  without  anyone  calling  more  than  six  or  eight 
persons.  The  pastor  would  call  his  ten  “captains” ;  each  of 
these,  five  or  six  “lieutenants”;  and  each  of  these,  six  or 
eight  persons  or  families.  “In  rural  communities,  one  per¬ 
son  can  notify  all  the  families  on  a  given  telephone  line.” 

6.  Cooperative  Publicity.  In  many  communities  the 
churches  advertise  cooperatively  through  the  press,  by  bill¬ 
boards,  and  other  devices.  The  occasion  is  generally  some 
special  event  or  campaign,  though  it  may  be  intended  merely 
to  call  attention  to  the  regular  services  of  the  church.  The 
“Go-to-Church  Sunday”  is  a  familiar  example. 

7.  The  Advertising  Committee.  Many  churches  have 
an  advertising  committee  composed  of  from  three  to  five 
persons  whose  judgment  and  zeal  in  such  matters  are  worth 
while.  The  pastor  should  meet  with  them  frequently  to 


230 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


suggest  and  guide — sometimes  to  save  himself  embarrass¬ 
ment  resulting  from  the  personal  exploitation  of  his  gifts 
by  the  committee.  For  an  unrestrained  publicity  commit¬ 
tee  will  almost  certainly  proclaim  from  the  housetop  the 
virtues  of  their  pastor  in  a  way  that  is  painful  to  a  modest 
man.  Advertise  the  church,  but  not  the  pastor! 

8.  Miscellaneous  Methods.  The  resourcefulness  of 
such  committees  is  very  great.  Among  the  devices  which 
have  been  employed  successfully  have  been  (a)  parades,  ( b ) 
billboards,  (c)  broadcasting  from  radio-stations,  ( d )  blot¬ 
ters  in  schoolrooms  and  the  writing  rooms  of  hotels,  (e) 
electric  crosses  and  signs  on  the  church,  (/)  street-car  bul¬ 
letins,  (g)  musical  programs,  (h)  doorknob  tags,  (i)  stories 
of  community  service  rendered  by  the  church,  (/)  lead  pen¬ 
cils  with  name  of  church  upon  them,  etc.  The  literature 
of  this  subject  is  growing  rapidly  and  is  very  suggestive  for 
those  contemplating  new  methods. 

Books  Recommended  for  Further  Study 

E.  E.  Elliott,  How  to  Advertise  a  Church. 

Christian  F.  Reisner,  Church  Publicity. 

Charles  Stelzle,  Principles  of  Successful  Church  Advertising. 

William  C.  Skeath,  Building  the  Congregation. 

A.  F.  McGarrah,  Practical  Inter-Church  Methods,  pp.  I99_335* 

Fred  B.  Fisher,  The  Way  to  Win,  Chapter  VI. 

Francis  H.  Case,  Handbook  of  Church  Advertising. 

Roy  L.  Smith,  Capturing  Crowds. 


CHAPTER  XXII 


CHURCH  BUILDINGS 

Buildings  ill  adapted  to  the  needs  of  a  religious  organ¬ 
ization  are  responsible  for  much  inefficiency  in  the  church. 
Sometimes  this  is  the  result  of  poverty.  The  congregation 
may  not  be  able  to  afford  a  better  house.  But  often  it  is 
due  to  ignorance  on  the  part  of  the  pastor,  influential  lay¬ 
men,  or  the  architect.  The  congregation  may  supply  money 
in  abundance,  but  those  responsible  for  spending  it  may 
create  a  pile  of  brick  and  mortar  that  would  serve  as  a 
railway  station  or  a  factory  quite  as  well  as  a  church.  A 
church  was  built  in  Illinois  some  years  ago  whose  total 
cost  approximated  $100,000,  and  the  acoustics  were  so  bad 
when  it  was  finished  that  the  worshiping  congregation  be¬ 
yond  the  first  few  rows  of  pews  could  not  understand  what 
the  speaker  was  saying.  That  was  a  defect  for  which  the 
architect  was  to  blame.  Within  five  years  the  only  church 
in  a  community  of  a  thousand  people  was  built  in  Kansas 
at  a  cost  of  $30,000.  This  organization  is  responsible  for 
the  religious  education  of  three  or  four  hundred  young 
people  and  for  the  money  which  they  provided  at  great  sac¬ 
rifice  they  got  a  building  of  four  rooms — a  large  and  a 
small  one  above  ground,  and  these  were  duplicated  in  the 
basement.  Almost  in  the  center  of  the  large  basement  room, 
a  huge  hot  air  furnace  was  installed,  reducing  the  service¬ 
ability  of  that  room  by  at  least  fifty  per  cent.  The  respon¬ 
sibility  for  this  fearful  blunder  must  rest  upon  the  pastor 
and  the  building  committee,  for  the  structure  does  not  show 
that  they  had  any  proper  knowledge  of  the  work  which  a 
modern  church  should  undertake.  Another  building  com¬ 
mittee  in  Iowa  was  persuaded  that  an  architect’s  fee  of  $200 
would  be  a  misappropriation  of  funds,  and,  with  the  assist¬ 
ance  of  a  local  contractor,  drew  their  own  plans,  and  spent 

231 


232 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


$12,000  in  erecting  a  building.  When  finished  the  church 
proved  to  be  unsafe  for  a  public  assemblage.  Poor  ven¬ 
tilation,  crude  interior  decoration,  and  inadequate  heating 
facilities  are  other  very  common  defects,  which  cannot  be 
charged  to  poverty.  All  this  is  said  to  emphasize  the  fact 
that  much  is  needed  besides  money  to  provide  properly 
for  the  housing  of  a  congregation.  Just  as  some  persons 
are  better  dressed  on  a  small  income  than  others  who  are 
not  compelled  to  practice  economy,  so  many  congregations, 
because  they  were  led  by  men  of  intelligence  and  insight, 
possess  a  more  serviceable  church  building  than  others,  and 
at  a  smaller  cost. 

We  do  not  have  space,  even  if  we  possessed  the  ability, 
to  write  a  treatise  on  church  architecture.  A  few  consid¬ 
erations,  however,  may  be  emphasized  as  important  for  all 
who  contemplate  remodeling  or  building  new  churches. 

i.  Neither  size  nor  cost  necessarily  determines  worth  in 
a  church  building,  but  fitness  to  serve  the  religious  needs  of 
the  community.  The  three  great  activities  of  the  church 
are  worship,  education,  and  service,  and  every  church 
should  be  adapted  to  this  threefold  function.  It  is  re¬ 
markable  what  excellent  service  can  be  rendered  with  lim¬ 
ited  equipment  in  the  hands  of  an  imaginative  pastor.  A 
single  room  seated  with  movable  chairs  placed  in  rows,  is 
a  place  of  worship.  With  these  chairs  rearranged  in  circles 
or  semicircles  and  concealed  from  each  other  by  portable 
screens,  it  is  a  schoolroom  in  which  the  church  performs 
its  educational  task.  Another  arrangement  of  chairs  and 
screens,  and  it  becomes  a  social  center  promoting  good  will 
and  fellowship.  The  chairs  pushed  back  against  the  walls 
— the  room  is  a  gymnasium  in  which  basket-ball,  volley-ball, 
and  captain-ball  are  played  by  the  young  people.  Arranged 
in  rows  again  facing  the  platform,  it  is  an  ‘'opera  house” 
in  which  are  held  amateur  theatricals,  farmers’  institutes, 
and  other  neighborhood  meetings.  Of  course,  this  is  not 
at  all  ideal.  But  if  it  is  the  best  the  community  can  afford, 
it  can  be  made  very  usable. 


CHURCH  BUILDINGS 


233 


2.  As  rapidly  as  increasing  wealth  permits  the  people 
to  have  better  homes,  they  should  have  a  better  place  of  wor¬ 
ship  to  comport  with  the  new  standard  of  living.  In  plan¬ 
ning  for  the  new  church,  let  the  demands  of  worship  and 
education  have  the  right  of  way  over  everything  else.  Do 
not  build  a  larger  main  room  than  is  needed  for  the  ordinary 
occasions  of  worship.  Probably  some  allowance  should  be 
made  for  growth,  but  to  provide  seating  capacity  for  eight 
hundred  when  no  more  than  two  hundred  usually  come  is 
a  mistake.  Remember  too  that  the  Protestant  ideal  requires 
intelligibility  throughout  the  service.  Acoustics  should  be 
such  that  a  speaker  may  be  heard  easily  in  every  part  of 
the  room.  Ventilation  is  all-important.  It  should  be  pos¬ 
sible  to  get  a  fresh  supply  of  air  into  the  room  constantly 
without  a  draft  blowing  on  any  person  in  the  congregation. 
The  heating  system  should  warm  the  room  to  sixty-five  de¬ 
grees  in  cold  weather  without  an  extravagant  outlay  for 
fuel.  The  interior  decoration  has  much  to  do  with  creating 
atmosphere  in  a  place  of  worship.  The  best  taste  in  these 
matters  declares  in  favor  of  simple  lines  and  light  colors, 
and  against  somber  tones  and  mural  decorations  in  the  form 
of  figures,  or  even  verses  of  Scripture. 

The  building  should  be  as  well  adapted  to  modern  ideals 
in  religious  education  as  worship.  Warm,  well-ventilated, 
cheery  rooms,  large  enough  to  accommodate  respectively 
the  Beginners’,  Primary,  and  Junior  Departments  of  the 
Sunday  school,  are  needed.  The  other  departments  may 
assemble  in  a  larger  room  for  worship,  but  as  nearly  as 
possible  each  class  should  have  its  own  room  for  study  and 
instruction.  Some  of  the  rooms  used  by  the  elementary 
departments  may  well  be  furnished  as  parlors  for  social 
and  fellowship  meetings  of  other  organizations  in  the 
church. 

Rooms  designed  primarily  for  service,  such  as  game- 
rooms,  club-rooms,  gymnasium,  etc.,  should  be  included  in 
the  plan  only  after  a  careful  and  prolonged  study  of  the 
relation  of  the  church  to  the  needs  of  the  community.  It 


234 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


is  to  be  feared  that  such  rooms  sometimes  have  been  built 
because  they  were  supposed  to  be  “up  to  date”  rather  than 
because  they  were  sorely  needed.  This  service  entails  an 
increased  budget  for  special  workers  and  maintenance  of 
plant.  Unless  all  this  is  clearly  understood  and  provided 
for  by  the  Finance  Committee,  it  is  much  better  to  keep 
these  out  of  consideration.  Not  a  few  congregations  which 
possess  this  kind  of  equipment  wish  they  were  rid  of  it. 

3.  All  of  which  leads  to  the  following  suggestions. 

a.  No  plans  should  be  made  for  a  building  enterprise 
until  the  needs  of  the  community  have  been  studied  care¬ 
fully,  and  specific  conclusions  reached,  in  conference  with 
lay  leaders,  concerning  the  exact  nature  of  the  service  to 
be  undertaken  by  the  church. 

b.  The  financial  resources  of  the  church  and  its  con¬ 
stituency  should  be  estimated  as  accurately  as  possible  and 
some  decision  reached  as  to  the  maximum  amount  that  can 
be  raised  for  this  purpose. 

c.  The  committee  should  then  consult  with  the  architects 
who  are  specialists  in  planning  church  buildings.  One 
may  be  competent  to  design  an  office  building  and  possess 
no  ability  to  draw  plans  for  a  church.  The  Board  of  Sunday 
Schools,  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  and  Church  Exten¬ 
sion,  and  the  Committee  on  Conservation  and  Advance  have 
organized  cooperatively  an  excellent  Bureau  of  Architec¬ 
ture,  employing  only  those  draughtsmen  who  are  experts 
in  designing  buildings  for  public  worship  and  religious  edu¬ 
cation.  This  bureau  will  be  pleased  to  submit  several 
plans  to  any  inquiring  official  board,  at  a  small  fraction  of 
the  usual  architect’s  fee,  on  being  informed  of  the  number 
of  persons  to  be  accommodated,  the  exact  nature  of  the 
services  to  be  rendered  by  the  church,  and  the  total  cost 
which  the  congregation  can  afford. 

d.  Great  care  should  be  taken  in  selecting  a  suitable 
building  site.  We  do  well  to  follow  the  example  of  the 
Roman  Catholics  in  locating  churches  where  they  will  be 
accessible  to  the  majority  and  on  conspicuous  sites.  The 


CHURCH  BUILDINGS 


235 


unfortunate  location  of  many  churches  makes  it  impossible 
for  them  to  serve  effectively. 

Books  Recommended  for  Further  Study 

E.  deS.  Brunner,  The  New  Country  Church  Building. 

Herbert  F.  Evans,  The  Sunday  School  Building  and  Its  Equip¬ 
ment. 

P.  E.  Burroughs,  Church  and  Sunday  School  Buildings. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 


THE  CHURCH  SURVEY 

The  policies  of  the  local  church  and  the  form  of  the  or¬ 
ganization  should  be  determined  by  scientifically  observ¬ 
able  facts — physical,  personal,  industrial,  social,  and  reli¬ 
gious — which  appear  in  the  life  of  the  community.  Some 
of  these  may  be  seen  at  a  glance.  Others  are  discovered 
only  after  diligent  search.  The  device  employed  for  un¬ 
covering  them  is  commonly  called  a  social  survey.  It  is  in 
some  disfavor  for  the  moment  because  of  abuse  by  “fad¬ 
dists”  who  do  nothing  about  the  data  which  they  assemble 
by  ostentatious  effort.  In  principle,  however,  the  survey 
is  absolutely  sound.  No  pastor  or  church  can  do  its  work 
properly  without  taking  “a  calm,  clear  look  into  the  com¬ 
munity  to  see  what  is  there.” 

This  is  probably  the  place  to  say  that  one  should  not 
form  his  notion  of  a  survey  entirely  from  the  elaborate 
findings  of  the  Russell  Sage  Foundation,  or  other  agencies 
wdiich  in  recent  years  have  made  exhaustive  studies  of  com¬ 
munity  life.  The  average  pastor  has  neither  ability  nor 
time  for  such  microscopic  social  analysis.  Nor  is  it  neces¬ 
sary.  For  the  most  part,  such  facts  as  are  important  for 
him  may  be  observed  quietly  as  he  performs  the  routine 
work  of  the  parish.  On  occasion  he  may  institute  an  or¬ 
ganized  canvass  in  which  he  should  have  the  assistance  of 
other  pastors  and  competent  laymen.  But  even  here  the 
aim  of  the  study  should  be  so  clear  and  definite  that  nothing 
irrelevant  shall  emerge  to  produce  confusion.  It  is  better 
to  make  several  simple  surveys  than  attempt  a  more  com¬ 
prehensive  study  which  embraces  a  bewildering  body  of 
facts.  Let  the  surveyor  be  very  certain  what  specific  things 
he  desires  to  know,  and  then  go  about  it  in  the  most  direct 
fashion  to  discover  them. 


236 


THE  CHURCH  SURVEY 


237 


1.  The  Religious  Census.  In  general  it  may  be  said 
that  church  surveys  usually  take  one  of  three  forms.1 

1.  The  first  is  not  properly  a  sociological  survey  at  all, 
but  merely  a  census  in  which  the  enumerators  list  all  per¬ 
sons  in  the  community  with  reference  to  their  religious  af¬ 
filiations,  noting  such  facts  as  will  be  helpful  to  the  churches 
in  serving  them.  When  every  house  is  to  be  canvassed, 
all  religious  organizations  in  the  community  should  par¬ 
ticipate.  If  the  work  is  done  by  a  single  organization, 
scrupulous  care  should  be  exercised  in  notifying  other  de¬ 
nominations  of  those  who  prefer  their  ministry.  Such  a 
canvass  is  necessary  before  a  complete  constituency  roll  can 
be  prepared  and  will  supply  a  list  of  prospective  members 
for  evangelistic  and  Sunday-school  campaigns. 

A  card  which  can  be  filed  in  an  index  for  permanent  rec¬ 
ord  is  filled  out  for  each  member  of  the  family.  The  in¬ 
formation  usually  asked  for  includes  the  following: 

Name ;  residence ;  business  address ;  telephone  number ; 
age ;  married ;  unmarried ;  widowed ;  church  membership ; 
church  preference;  Sunday  school  attended,  etc. 

It  is  possible  to  increase  the  number  of  questions,  but 
these  are  sufficient  to  locate  the  individuals.  Other  in¬ 
formation  may  be  collected  later  by  church  visitors.  In 
communities  where  the  population  is  constantly  shifting, 
this  canvass  should  he  made  annually. 

Accuracy  on  the  part  of  the  enumerators  is  very  impor¬ 
tant.  The  pastors  should  meet  them  for  training  several 
times  previous  to  the  census.  When  possible,  they  should 
go  in  pairs.  In  small  communities,  the  pastors  themselves 
can  do  the  work  without  assistance  from  the  laymen.  Pre¬ 
pared  forms  may  be  secured  from  certain  agencies,  but  it  is 
better  to  make  out  the  particular  blank  desired  and  have  it 
printed  locally. 

The  importance  of  such  a  census  cannot  be  doubted.  It 
is  a  systematic  search  for  the  unchurched,  and  renders  it 


*See  Fisher,  The  Way  to  Win,  p.  I3iff. 


238 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


impossible  for  any  religious  organization  to  be  unaware  of 
its  obligation  to  minister  to  certain  people.  Of  course  it 
is  of  no  value  unless  an  effort  is  made  to  bring  the  church 
into  touch  with  those  who  have  become  dissociated  from  it. 
In  cities  it  will  be  necessary  to  confine  the  canvass  to  the 
particular  geographical  area  for  which  the  cooperating 
churches  are  primarily  responsible.  Likewise  in  the  open 
country.  In  villages  and  towns  the  canvass  should  em¬ 
brace  the  whole  community. 

2.  The  Community  Survey.  The  community  survey 
proper  has  a  very  different  aim.  It  is  a  study  of  environ¬ 
ment,  and  seeks  to  note  and  classify  every  factor  in  the  en¬ 
vironment  which  influences  human  well-being. 

a.  Scope.  (1)  Physical  conditions  such  as  climate,  soil, 
rainfall,  housing,  sanitation,  water  supply,  community 
health,  etc.,  are  always  an  important  part  of  such  a  study. 

(2)  Since  a  good  material  foundation  is  indispensable 
to  the  life  of  the  spirit,  the  inquiry  will  carry  into  the  field 
of  economics.  Does  the  community  depend  chiefly  upon 
agriculture  or  manufacturing?  If  manufacturing,  under 
what  conditions  do  the  workers  toil?  What  wages  are  re¬ 
ceived  by  different  classes  of  workers?  Number  of  hours 
in  the  working  day?  Women  in  industry?  Children  in 
industry?  Unemployment?  Welfare  work?  Cost  of  liv¬ 
ing?  What  proportion  of  the  workers  receive  sufficient  in¬ 
come  to  enjoy  a  fair  standard  of  living?  Are  workers  or¬ 
ganized?  etc.  In  an  agricultural  community  the  investiga¬ 
tion  will  concern  itself  with  questions  of  tenantry,  absentee 
landlords,  marketing,  crop  production,  etc. 

(3)  The  survey  will  give  careful  consideration  to  the 
sociological  structure  of  the  community,  for  race,  nation¬ 
ality,  sex,  family  life,  inbreeding,  immigration,  etc.,  have 
profound  significance  for  the  spiritual  life. 

(4)  The  educational  agencies  will  be  scrutinized.  Num¬ 
ber  of  schools?  Graded?  Centralized?  High  schools? 
Number  of  pupils  per  teacher?  How  many  young  people 
are  in  college  ?  How  many  evening  schools  ?  libraries  ? 


THE  CHURCH  SURVEY 


239 


What  per  cent  of  the  pupils  finish  the  eighth  grade?  The 
high  school?  Are  there  vacation  schools?  Parent-teachers’ 
associations?  etc. 

(5)  Again,  it  is  vital  to  know  accurately  what  agencies 
serve  the  instinct  for  play  and  recreation.  How  many  parks 
are  there  and  what  facilities  do  they  afford  for  baseball, 
football,  bathing,  boating,  tennis,  and  other  out-of-door 
games?  -How  many  pool-rooms?  theaters?  movies?  dance 
halls?  Where  do  the  young  people  congregate?  Is  there  a 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  ?  Y.  W.  C.  A.  ?  What  are  their  social  activities  ? 
Do  the  churches  and  public  schools  make  themselves  social 
centers?  etc. 

(6)  Community  morals  cannot  be  overlooked  in  such 
a  study.  How  many  arrests  annually  by  the  police  and 
for  what  offenses?  Gambling?  Drunkenness?  Prostitu¬ 
tion?  Juvenile  crime  and  delinquency?  Jail  conditions? 
How  are  child  offenders  treated?  etc. 

(7)  And  all  philanthropic  institutions  will  come  in  for 
investigation.  What  organizations  assist  the  needy,  such 
as  organized  charities,  lodges,  churches,  etc.  ?  How  many 
dependent  families  cared  for  by  each?  Are  their  methods 
modern  and  scientific?  etc. 

(8)  Religious  institutions  will  be  surveyed.  Number  of 
churches?  Membership  of  each?  Amounts  raised  by  each 
for  current  expenses?  for  benevolences?  attitude  toward 
evangelism?  religious  education?  community  service?  mis¬ 
sions?  Service  rendered  to  social  and  recreational  life  of 
their  own  young  people?  of  the  community  as  a  whole? 
Do  the  pastors  give  full  time  to  their  church  work  ?  Do  the 
churches  cooperate  with  each  other?  Is  the  community 
overchurched?  underchurched?  etc. 

The  suggestions  made  under  the  several  headings  are  by 
no  means  exhaustive.  The  number  of  inquiries  in  each  case 
could  be  multiplied  indefinitely.  They  merely  suggest  the 
vast  scope  and  prodigious  labor  involved  in  a  comprehensive 
study  of  this  kind. 

b.  Method.  (1)  The  first  step  in  making  a  community 


240 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


survey  consists  in  determining  its  scope.  It  may  be  very 
elaborate.  For  ordinary  purposes  the  simpler  study  which 
takes  account  of  the  more  important  factors  in  the  commu¬ 
nity  life,  and  these  only  perhaps  one  at  a  time,  is  the  more 
valuable.  In  any  case  the  initial  step  involves  the  prepara¬ 
tion  of  the  questions  which  are  to  be  asked.  The  same  in¬ 
quiries  will  seldom  be  appropriate  for  two  communities. 

(2)  The  geographical  area  must  be  defined  very  accu¬ 
rately. 

(3)  Who  shall  make  it?  In  the  open  country,  or  in  a 
rural  village  or  town,  the  pastors  themselves  can  do  the 
work  better  than  other  persons.  In  larger  towns  and  cities 
the  survey  may  be  made  a  community  achievement  by  se¬ 
curing  the  cooperation  of  business  clubs,  lodges,  the  Board 
of  Health,  the  Board  of  Education,  the  Woman’s  Club, 
and  other  organizations.  In  this  event,  the  survey  should 
be  put  under  the  direction  of  an  Executive  Committee  com¬ 
posed  of  representatives  of  the  participating  groups. 

(4)  Assistance  from  the  outside.  In  the  more  involved 
surveys,  it  is  better  generally  to  raise  a  fund  and  employ 
a  trained  director  of  social  surveying  to  supervise  the  whole 
task.  It  may  be  that  a  near-by  educational  institution,  such 
as  an  agricultural  school  or  State  university,  can  supply 
such  a  worker.  To  organize  and  instruct  his  assistants 
will  require  weeks  of  time,  and  to  tabulate  and  interpret  the 
data  impressively  will  consume  even  a  longer  period. 

(5)  Proper  interpretation  of  the  facts  is  quite  as  neces¬ 
sary  as  skill  in  detecting  them.  The  work  of  interpretation 
includes  map  drawing,  charting,  and  graphing  so  that  the 
eye  as  well  as  the  ear  may  be  impressed.  A  single  map 
should  not  be  overloaded  with  facts.  It  is  much  better  to 
make  three  maps,  for  example,  one  showing  the  location  of 
churches,  another  the  location  of  schools,  and  another  the 
location  of  social  service  agencies,  than  to  crowd  all  into 
one  drawing.  “Comparisons”  and  “averages”  are  devices 
which  give  significance  to  local  figures.  “The  fact  that 
there  are  500  children  in  school  means  nothing  unless  that 


THE  CHURCH  SURVEY 


241 


figure  is  compared  with  the  total  number  of  children  of 
school  age.”  “A  death  rate  of  9.77  per  thousand  in  Wash¬ 
ington  Heights  is  not  particularly  informing  unless  it  is 
known  that  the  death  rate  in  the  city  of  New  York  is  13.40 
per  thousand.” 

(6)  After  the  facts  have  been  discovered,  the  next  ques¬ 
tion  is,  “What  shall  be  done  about  them?”  Frequently 
nothing  has  happened.  A  few  years  ago  many  American 
cities  appropriated  considerable  sums  for  the  study  of  vice 
conditions,  and  important  findings  were  made.  In  almost 
no  instance,  however,  were  those  surveys  followed  by  in¬ 
telligent  changes  in  public  policy  with  reference  to  social 
conditions,  and  of  late  there  has  been  much  fruitless  survey¬ 
ing  within  the  church. 

Suppose  that  it  should  appear  that  the  community  is 
not  provided  with  adequate  facilities  for  play?  Suppose 
that  the  school  buildings  are  overcrowded,  badly  located, 
and  poorly  equipped  ?  Or  that  there  are  too  many  churches  ? 
What  change  will  that  make  in  the  program  of  the  church? 
A  community  survey  will  certainly  raise  embarrassing  issues 
to  meet  which  thoughtful  policies  and  programs  must  be 
adopted  for  a  period  of  years.  Better  make  no  survey  at 
all  than  let  it  end  there. 

3.  The  Church  Survey.  The  third  type  of  survey  aims 
to  discover  and  chart  important  facts  about  the  church  or¬ 
ganization  itself.  It  too  may  be  elaborate  or  simple,  dealing 
with  many  or  with  single  phases  of  church  activities.  It 
may  concern  itself  with  the  history  of  the  church ;  its 
growth  or  decay ;  the  benevolences,  the  financial  policy  and 
resources,  the  buildings,  missions,  community  service,  evan¬ 
gelism,  religious  education. 

The  materials  for  such  a  study  are  found  largely  in  the 
records  of  the  church  and  its  several  organizations,  and  may 
be  reviewed  by  the  pastor  without  much  assistance  from 
others.  Fisher’s  The  Way  to  Win ,  pages  153-155,  contains 
a  suggestive  list  of  questions  for  such  an  inquiry. 


24  2 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


Books  Recommended  for  Further  Study 

Edwin  L.  Earp,  The  Rural  Church  Serving  the  Community. 

C.  E.  Carroll,  The  Community  Survey  in  Relation  to  Church 
Efficiency. 

Fred  B.  Fisher,  The  Way  to  Win,  Chapter  VI. 

Margaret  F.  Byington,  What  Social  Workers  Should  Know  About 
Their  Community. 

Anna  B.  Taft,  Community  Study  for  Country  Districts. 

Warren  H.  Wilson,  Community  Study  for  Cities. 


SECTION  III 


PASTORAL  RELATIONS 


CHAPTER  XXIV 


THE  CALL  TO  THE  MINISTRY 

In  the  preceding  chapters  we  have  considered  the  ideals 
and  methods  generally  approved  for  making  the  modern 
church  an  effective  instrument  for  Christianizing  society. 
But  the  mere  mastery  of  the  technique  of  religious  work 
will  not  of  itself  produce  the  successful  church  leader. 
Spirit,  temperament,  zeal,  inward  attitudes  of  soul  and  heart 
are  the  vital  elements  in  the  ministry,  and  will  supply  the 
themes  for  discussion  in  the  final  section  of  this  book. 
Conspicuous  among  them  is  the  “call”  to  the  pastoral  office.1 
In  the  absence  of  this  experience,  one  is  likely  to  be  dis¬ 
tinctly  unhappy  in  the  ministry,  and  will  abandon  it  ulti¬ 
mately  for  more  congenial  employment.  To  interpret  the 
meaning  of  the  “call”  is  our  aim  in  the  present  chapter. 

i.  Let  us  begin  by  asking,  “Is  the  work  of  the  ministry 
really  distinguished  in  this  respect  from  that  of  other 
professional  men?”  Undoubtedly,  all  work  may  be  sanc¬ 
tified  by  the  spirit  of  service,  and  the  same  obligation  is  on 
every  Christian  which  is  on  the  minister  to  “do  all  as  unto 
the  Lord.”  But  this  is  not  quite  what  is  involved  in  a 
divine  call — the  conviction  that  any  worthy  work  is  God’s 
work  and  that  the  worker  stands  in  “living  connection  with 
the  heavenly  world.”  Take  coal-mining,  for  illustration. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  it  is  a  “basic”  industry,  abso¬ 
lutely  necessary  to  human  happiness.  And  the  man  who 
burrows  underground  to  bring  fuel  to  the  surface  for  his 
fellow  men  is  a  most  valuable  servant  of  society,  deserving 

Tt  might  be  possible  to  distinguish  between  a  call  to  the  pas¬ 
torate  and  to  some  other  form  of  religious  work.  No  differentia¬ 
tion  of  this  kind,  however,  is  made  here.  The  term  is  used  in  its 
most  comprehensive  sense,  applying  to  all  forms  of  ministerial 
service. 


245 


246 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


much  more  consideration  than  he  usually  receives.  More¬ 
over,  many  religiously  minded  miners  derive  an  inward 
satisfaction  when  they  reflect  upon  the  service  which  they 
render,  and  are  conscious  of  God’s  sustaining  grace  as  they 
toil.  But  the  effect  of  this  work  upon  the  workers  them¬ 
selves  is  such  that  it  would  seem  highly  incongruous  to 
declare  that  one  has  been  divinely  called  to  mine  coal.  As 
a  matter  of  fact,  most  miners  probably  feel  that  they  have 
been  condemned  to  the  mines  by  the  accident  of  birth  and 
the  circumstances  of  their  early  lives.  A  “divine  vocation” 
may  be  expected  to  enrich  the  mind  and  heart  of  the  worker 
as  coal-mining  does  not  do.  A  “calling”  should  give  such 
joy  that  the  worker  would  not  be  engaged  in  other  labor  if 
he  could !  And  it  is  difficult  to  think  of  miners  feeling  thus 
about  their  employment.  All  this  applies  to  most  hand¬ 
workers.  We  do  not  deny  the  social  value  or  spiritual  sig¬ 
nificance  of  manual  labor.  The  only  point  we  are  making 
is  that  men  usually  drift  or  are  forced  into  it  rather  than 
deliberately  choose  it.  It  may  be  glorified,  indeed,  by  the 
religious  imagination,  and  thus  yield  high  satisfactions,  but  v, 
the  most  devout  laborers  would  be  slow  to  declare  that  their 
work  was  a  divine  calling. 

The  distinction  is  not  so  clear  in  the  case  of  professional 
workers.  The  successful  teacher,  lawyer,  physician,  artist, 
musician,  architect,  and  engineer  must  have  peculiar  per¬ 
sonal  fitness  for  their  work  as  certainly  as  the  minister. 
Many  of  them  are  very  happy  in  the  practice  of  their  pro¬ 
fessions.  In  most  cases  professional  work  is  deliberately 
adopted  after  other  possibilities  have  been  considered. 
Moreover,  the  work  tends  to  enlarge  mental  horizons  and 
is  rewarding  in  rich  fellowships.  Finally,  all  the  great 
professions  have  passed  under  the  law  of  service.  Finan¬ 
cial  gain  is  not  the  dominant  motive,  as  in  business.  In 
these  respects  they  do  not  differ  from  the  ministry. 

But  the  ministry  is  distinguished  from  all  these  in  that 
its  aim  is  confessedly  spiritual.  However  noble  may  be  the 
service  to  the  physical,  the  intellectual,  and  the  aesthetic 


THE  CALL  TO  THE  MINISTRY 


247 


needs  of  human  life,  religious  work  is  more  fundamental  in 
that  it  deals  with  intangible  values  which  give  life  its  real 
meaning.  This  makes  it  impossible  for  the  minister  to  know 
always  how  well  or  ill  he  is  succeeding.  But  it  constitutes 
the  chief  glory  of  his  task.  Blunderingly  enough  the  work 
goes  on,  as  the  workers  themselves  confess,  but  where  there 
is  a  reasonable  amount  of  intelligence,  imagination,  and  un¬ 
selfishness,  the  awkward  efforts  of  even  an  incompetent 
minister  are  singularly  sanctified  to  the  spiritual  well-being 
of  a  community.  If  it  be  said  that  other  types  of  professional 
work  produce  spiritual  results,  we  still  insist  that  they  are 
secondary,  and  not  primary.  And  this  holy  daring  which 
prompts  religious  workers  to  make  that  the  chief  object  of 
all  their  striving  which  others  regard  as  incidental,  lifts  the 
ministry  out  of  the  rank  of  professions  into  the  dignity  of  a 
divine  calling  because  its  aim  is  divine  in  a  sense  that  can¬ 
not  be  affirmed  of  other  professions. 

Again,  the  effect  of  the  ministry  upon  the  minister  him¬ 
self  sets  this  work  apart.  Ideally,  labor  should  always  en¬ 
rich  the  personality  of  the  laborer.  One  of  the  deplorable 
facts  about  modern  industry  is  that  men  become  as  me¬ 
chanical  as  the  machines  which  they  tend.  Born  human 
beings,  they  die  mere  grocers,  or  bankers,  or  mechanics. 
Instead  of  the  means  to  a  fuller  manhood,  work  too  often 
menaces  what  manhood  they  already  possess.  And  to  this 
dwarfing  of  personality  through  the  performance  of  simple 
processes  which  require  no  thought  or  imagination,  must  be 
added  the  positively  immoral  effect  of  the  atmosphere  of 
strife,  suspicion,  and  mutual  distrust  in  which  employers 
and  workers  live.  All  this  gives  abundant  reason  for  de¬ 
claring,  with  Phillips  Brooks,  that  work  is  one  of  the 
cherubim  which  stand  with  flaming  swords  before  the  Gar¬ 
den  of  Eden  to  prevent  man’s  return  to  happiness.  The 
supreme  test  of  any  labor  must  be,  not  the  amount  of  wealth, 
but  the  kind  of  men  it  produces.  And  one  is  not  happy 
about  the  human  product  of  our  industrial  organization, 
whether  it  be  the  masters  or  the  workers.  It  is  very  differ- 


248 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


ent  with  the  professions.  All  react  upon  their  members 
to  enrich  personality  to  a  remarkable  degree.  It  will  be 
found,  generally,  that  the  physicians,  teachers,  lawyers,  so¬ 
cial  workers,  and  ministers  are  the  persons  of  broadest  sym¬ 
pathies  in  the  average  American  community.  They  do  not 
accumulate  great  wealth,  as  a  rule,  but  they  possess  good 
private  libraries  and  overflowing  reading  tables,  and  their 
friendships  are  usually  superior.  Furthermore,  the  ethical 
standards  of  their  work  lay  moral  responsibilities  upon  them 
not  imposed  upon  others.  The  shock  is  always  greater 
when  a  professional  man  breaks  down  at  the  point  of  good¬ 
ness  than  when  a  business  man  or  laborer  falls. 

The  influence  of  the  ministry  upon  those  within  its  ranks 
is  similar  to  that  of  other  professions,  with  this  difference 
— the  ethical  effect  is  very  much  greater.  The  nature  of 
the  work  requires  constant  study,  which  stimulates  the  in¬ 
tellectual  life.  It  is  likewise  rewarding  in  the  opportunity 
it  affords  for  social  intercourse  of  the  finer  sort.  But  the 
demand  which  it  makes  upon  the  minister  himself  to  live  on 
the  highest  moral  levels  exceeds  that  of  any  other  profes¬ 
sion.  In  a  way,  of  course,  careless  living  is  a  disqualifica¬ 
tion  for  any  professional  work,  but  for  the  pastor  it  is  a 
capital  offense.  And  no  one  will  hold  him  to  as  strict  ac¬ 
count  as  he  holds  himself.  He  will  be  aware  of  personal 
defects  which  others  do  not  observe,  and  these  will  give  him 
constant  pain.  More  sharply  than  others  he  will  feel  the 
inconsistency  of  a  moral  physician  becoming  himself  a 
source  of  evil  contagion  and  a  teacher  of  religion  failing  to 
exemplify  in  his  own  life  the  doctrine  which  he  preaches. 
We  are  not  thinking  of  his  being  self-consciously  “an  exam¬ 
ple  to  others,”  affecting  a  piety  which  he  does  not  feel.  That 
road  leads  to  cant,  insincerity,  hypocrisy — offensive  to  God 
and  man.  Rather  we  have  in  mind  the  passion  for  genuine 
and  transparent  goodness  which  must  adorn  his  own  life 
before  he  can  successfully  transmit  it  to  others.  Nor  are 
we  declaring  that  ministers  always  become  immaculate  in 
their  saintliness.  As  a  class  they  are  subject  to  the  same 


THE  CALL  TO  THE  MINISTRY 


249 


temptations  that  befall  other  men,  and  often  are  defeated 
in  the  very  “citadels  of  their  souls.”  But  the  ethical  de¬ 
mands  of  their  work  make  it  more  difficult  for  them  to  yield, 
acting  as  a  sharp  spur,  impelling  them  to  “go  on  to  per¬ 
fection”  when  otherwise  they  might  cease  their  striving. 
This  superior  ethical  influence  of  the  ministry  upon  the 
minister  is  a  divine  effect  and  supplies  another  reason  for 
regarding  it  as  a  sacred  vocation. 

Again,  most  ministers  testify  that  they  entered  upon  their 
work  because  of  an  inward  imperative  which  is  not  often 
the  experience  of  other  professional  workers.  The  physi¬ 
cian,  the  teacher,  the  lawyer,  the  dentist,  unite  generally  in 
saying  that  they  like  their  work,  but  rarely  does  one  go  so 
far  as  to  declare  that  he  undertook  it  because  of  a  sense  of 
duty.  The  matter  of  peculiar  fitness  apart,  he  could  have 
been  quite  as  happy  in  some  other  profession  as  the  one  he 
chose.  Indeed,  many  do  engage  successfully  in  business 
while  they  practice  their  professions.  But  not  so,  as  a  rule, 
with  ministers.  They  are  happy  in  their  work,  but  some¬ 
thing  deeper  than  the  attractiveness  of  the  profession  drew 
them  to  it.  With  almost  no  dissenting  voice  they  affirm  that 
their  loyalty  to  the  best  that  they  knew  was  involved  in  their 
choice  of  a  life  work.  It  was  a  highly  moral  experience  in 
which  they  were  chiefly  conscious  of  a  sense  of  duty.  An 
authoritative  “must”  was  heard  from  the  voice  of  conscience 
— the  “Thus  saith  the  Lord”  of  the  Old  Testament  prophets. 
Let  it  be  confessed  frankly  that  events  have  proven  that 
some  were  mistaken  in  their  interpretation  of  this  ex¬ 
perience.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  experience  has  justified 
the  conclusion  which  was  reached  in  a  majority  of  cases. 
And  it  is  significant  that  an  attempt  to  abandon  the  minis¬ 
try,  or  to  engage  in  business  as  a  side  line,  for  reasons  less 
noble  than  those  for  which  one  entered  upon  it  in  the  be¬ 
ginning,  results  usually  in  great  unhappiness.  Religious 
work  is  a  jealous  mistress.  “The  Lord  will  have  no  drift¬ 
wood  for  his  sacrifices,  and  no  drift  men  for  his  ministry.” 

These  three  facts,  then,  justify  the  belief  that  the  min- 


250 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


istry  is  a  work  apart  from  others — its  spiritual  aim,  its 
ethical  effect  upon  the  minister  himself,  and  the  motive  ac¬ 
tuating  those  who  undertake  it.  With  more  warrant  than 
is  conferred  by  mere  poetic  license,  it  may  be  thought  of  as 
a  (Cdivine  calling.’'  This  doctrine  should  be  held  in  great 
humbleness  of  mind,  however,  not  in  arrogant  self-suf¬ 
ficiency.  The  minister  will  prove  that  his  is  a  holy  office, 
not  by  proclaiming  the  fact  self -assertively  from  the  house¬ 
top,  but  by  showing  in  his  words,  and  life,  and  work,  the 
divine  spirit  of  kindness,  love,  gentleness,  forbearance,  and 
meekness. 

2.  We  are  commanded  on  the  highest  authority  to  test 
the  movements  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  hearts  of  men.3 
If  these  come  from  the  Divine  Father,  investigation  will 
only  make  that  fact  more  clear.  If  spurious,  the  sooner  we 
know  it,  the  better.  What,  then,  are  the  evidences  of  genu¬ 
ineness  in  a  call  to  the  ministry?  They  are  gathered  from 
various  sources. 

a.  The  first  is  an  idealistic  attitude  toward  life.  He  who 
is  more  concerned  with  exploiting  men  than  serving  them 
unselfishly  is  inherently  disqualified  for  religious  work! 
He  must  love  men  deeply  and  feel  as  his  very  own  their 
misery  and  blindness. 

b.  No  one  is  called  into  ministerial  service  who  is  not 
deeply  religious  in  his  personal  life.  The  unseen  world 
must  be  for  him  the  realest  of  worlds,  with  which  he  holds, 
commerce  daily  by  faith  and  prayer.  He  must  be  very  sure] 
of  God  and  have  some  power  at  least  to  make  other  men 
see  God  in  everything.  In  the  language  of  the  Discipline , 
he  must  have  '‘the  love  of  God  abiding  in  him.”  His  reli¬ 
gious  earnestness  will  show  itself  in  the  conviction  that  the 
sickness  of  the  world  is  spiritual — a  matter  of  wrong  inner 
ideals  and  attitudes  rather  than  maladjustments  in  the  social 
organization — and  as  such  the  only  cure  is  a  wholehearted 
acceptance  of  the  gospel  of  Jesus  in  all  relations. 

c.  An  inward  drawing  toward  the  work  is  essential.  We 


3Phil.  i.  9,  io. 


THE  CALL  TO  THE  MINISTRY 


251 


should  be  warned,  however,  that  the  strength  of  the  sub¬ 
jective  impression  is  not  very  significant  in  itself.  Emo¬ 
tional  temperaments  may  describe  it  as  overwhelming,  while 
less  excitable  persons  may  feel  nothing  more  than  a  strong 
inclination  in  a  certain  direction.  It  frequently  happens 
that  the  most  successful  ministers  experience  this  call  in  its 
milder  forms.  If  one  is  unable  to  dismiss  the  subject  from 
his  thought,  or  finds  pleasure  in  imagining  himself  en¬ 
gaged  in  the  work  that  is  allotted  to  a  minister,  he  has  as 
much  mystical  intimation  as  is  accorded  to  most.  And  he 
has  all  that  is  needed,  for  this  inclination  must  be  cor¬ 
roborated  by  other  evidence  to  make  sure  that  it  is  more 
than  a  human  preference  for  the  office — “a  hankering  after 
its  perquisites,  the  position  it  offers,  the  gains  and  emolu¬ 
ments  it  promises.” 

d.  The  absence  of  peculiar  physical ,  mental,  and  social 
fitness  for  the  work  nullifies,  usually,  an  alleged  inward 
call.  If  one  is  not  strong  in  body;  or  if  he  does  not  possess 
at  least  average  intellectual  ability ;  or  if  he  cannot  express 
himself  clearly  and  with  some  degree  of  readiness;  or  if 
he  does  not  love  people,  and  has  little  ability  to  enlist  and 
organize  them  under  his  leadership,  he  has  a  right  to  con¬ 
clude  that  he  is  not  called  to  the  work  of  the  ministry. 

e.  The  inward  call  should  be  confirmed  by  the  outward. 
That  is  to  say,  one’s  personal  inspirations  should  be  sub¬ 
mitted  to  the  judgment  of  others.  Dr.  Gladden  most 
wisely  declares,  “No  minister  ought  to  undertake  the  work 
unless  he  believes  he  has  a  divine  vocation ;  but  he  ought  to 
submit  this  conviction  of  his  to  the  approval  of  his  breth¬ 
ren.”4  The  Holy  Spirit  reveals  himself  in  the  collective 
wisdom  of  the  many  as  certainly  as  in  the  private  insight  of 
the  individual.  If  one  possesses  the  “gifts  and  graces” 
which  qualify  him  for  religious  service,  those  who  know 
him  and  love  the  church  will  have  an  opinion  on  the  subject 
which  deserves  consideration.  If  their  judgment  does  not 
sustain  his,  it  is  quite  probable  that  he  was  wrong  in  his  in- 


*Op.  cit.,  p.  69. 


252 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


terpretation  of  the  subjective  experience  which  was  re¬ 
garded  as  “a  call.” 

f.  The  final  test  of  a  call  is  some  measure  of  success  in  the 
actual  work  of  the  ministry.  If  one’s  efforts  do  not  com¬ 
mand  the  approval  of  the  reflective  people  in  the  congrega¬ 
tion  under  reasonable  conditions,  he  has  a  right  to  conclude 
that  he  should  serve  as  a  layman  rather  than  a  minister. 

3.  The  call  to  the  ministry  ultimately  resolves  itself  into 
a  call  to  a  particular  church.  This  is  determined  in  various 
ways.  Under  a  “Congregational”  polity,  the  local  church 
issues  the  invitation.  The  “Presbyterian”  ideal  requires 
that  the  choice  of  the  church  shall  be  confirmed  by  the 
“presbytery.”  In  the  Church  of  England,  the  “parish”  has 
little  voice  in  determining  who  the  “incumbent”  shall  be, 
the  right  of  nomination  being  vested  in  a  “patron,”  who  is, 
in  some  instances,  the  government ;  in  others,  the  bishop 
or  archbishop ;  in  yet  others,  a  dean  or  chapter,  but  generally 
a  landed  proprietor.5  In  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
the  matter,  theoretically,  rests  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the 
bishop.  In  practice,  however,  this  officer  usually  seeks  the 
advice  of  district  superintendents,  and  invites  churches  and 
ministers  to  express  their  wishes  fully  concerning  “ap¬ 
pointments.”  Among  the  larger  churches,  it  is  becoming 
customary  for  the  bishop  to  approve  arrangements  which 
have  been  entered  into  by  churches  and  ministers.  The  right 
of  the  church  and  the  minister  to  an  opinion  about  estab¬ 
lishing  the  pastoral  relation  can  hardly  be  denied,  even 
under  an  episcopal  form  of  government.  They  will  be 
more  seriously  affected  in  case  a  mistake  is  made  than  the 
bishop  can  be.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  not  at  all  certain 
that  the  average  pastorate  has  been  lengthened  or  the  joy 
of  the  relationship  increased  by  the  self-assertion  of  min¬ 
isters  and  churches. 

Where  large  liberty  is  granted  a  church  in  seeking  its 
pastor  the  initiative  in  establishing  a  new  relationship  should 

6Recent  legislation  by  Parliament  gives  the  parish  more  oppor¬ 
tunity  to  express  itself  than  was  formerly  enjoyed. 


THE  CALL  TO  THE  MINISTRY 


253 


be  taken  by  the  church.  The  denomination  generally  is 
sensitive  to  the  indelicacy  of  a  minister  actively  seeking 
an  ecclesiastical  office,  whether  it  be  a  pastorate,  the  epis¬ 
copacy,  a  general  secretaryship,  or  an  editorial  position. 
Under  the  doctrine  of  a  divine  call  to  religious  work,  the 
normal  state  of  the  pastor’s  mind  should  be,  “I  am  where 
I  am  because  God  has  placed  me  here.  ...  I  should  stay 
here  until  Providence  makes  it  clear  that  I  am  needed  else¬ 
where.”  If  conditions  of  health  or  work  make  a  change 
seem  desirable,  he  is  at  liberty  to  express  himself  in  a 
general  way  to  district  superintendents  and  bishops,  but 
not  to  suggest  himself  for  particular  appointments.  If  ap¬ 
proached  by  the  committee  of  a  particular  church,  he  may 
express  himself  as  willing  to  accept  an  invitation  provided 
the  bishop  approves.  It  will  be  important  for  him  to  know 
whether  the  invitation  is  extended  unanimously  or  only  by 
a  majority  vote.  He  should  be  more  interested  in  the  spirit 
and  ideals  of  the  church  than  the  salary  which  it  pays.  And 
he  should  decline  to  preach  a  ‘‘trial  sermon.”  Neither  min¬ 
ister  nor  congregation  are  likely  to  be  at  their  best  under 
such  an  ordeal. 

The  customary  procedure  on  the  part  of  the  church  seek¬ 
ing  a  pastor  is  to  appoint  a  committee  to  consult,  first,  with 
the  district  superintendent  and  bishop,  and,  second,  with 
other  responsible  persons  who  may  suggest  the  names  of 
available  ministers.  The  committee  should  not  enter  into 
negotiations  with  anyone  until  it  has  satisfied  itself  concern¬ 
ing  his  acceptability.  It  is  an  easy  matter  in  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  to  discover  what  kind  of  work  a  pastor 
has  done  in  previous  charges,  and  this  is  a  much  safer 
criterion  than  the  impression  he  may  make  in  a  single  ser¬ 
mon.  They  should  as  little  think  of  asking  him  to  “candi¬ 
date”  as  he  should  think  of  consenting  to  do  so.  Having 
satisfied  themselves  that  they  are  ready  to  extend  an  invi¬ 
tation  if  he  is  willing  to  accept,  they  may  interview  him, 
and,  if  he  is  agreed,  request  the  bishop,  through  the  district 
superintendent,  to  make  the  appointment. 


254 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


If  there  is  a  call  to  begin  a  pastorate,  there  may  also  be 
a  call  to  end  it.  The  conviction  may  come  to  the  pastor 
that  he  has  made  his  best  contribution  and  to  continue 
longer  in  the  service  of  a  particular  church  is  unwise. 
Let  him  make  sure,  however,  that  he  is  not  moved  merely 
by  small  personal  irritations,  or  by  the  desire  for  an  in¬ 
crease  in  salary,  or  by  sheer  restlessness.  Again  the  con¬ 
viction  may  come  to  the  more  thoughtful  members  of  the 
church,  and  become  so  strong  that  they  feel  compelled  to 
take  the  initiative  in  ending  pastoral  relations.  There  is  a 
Christian  way  of  proceeding  in  these  matters  which  will  be 
taken  instinctively  by  persons  of  imagination  and  brotherly 
regard.  One  way  not  to  do  it  is  to  pass  complimentary 
resolutions  inviting  the  pastor  to  return,  and  then  quietly 
send  a  delegation  to  the  bishop  or  district  superintendent 
insisting  that  he  must  not  come  back.  That  is  unethical 
in  the  highest  degree.  Frankness  and  candor,  mixed  with 
kindly  consideration,  alone  are  justified  in  handling  a  mat¬ 
ter  so  delicate. 

4.  Very  often  the  call  to  religious  work  may  take  the  form 
of  a  call  to  some  special  task  or  field,  for  example,  foreign 
missions,  foreign-speaking  work  at  home,  industrial  work 
in  cities,  rural  church  work,  or  religious  education.  The 
prevailing  considerations  in  reaching  such  a  decision  should 
be  ( 1 )  sufficient  knowledge  concerning  the  proposed  service 
to  make  possible  an  intelligent  opinion,  (2)  the  possession 
of  the  special  abilities  required  for  effective  service,  and 
(3)  a  strong  inward  response  to  the  appeal  of  the  work 
itself. 

5.  It  is  assumed  that  the  call  to  the  pastoral  office  is  for 
life.  The  time  may  come,  however,  when  the  way  may  lead 
providentially  into  other  service.  It  seems  necessary  to 
draft  men  continually  from  the  pastorate  for  educational 
and  administrative  work  in  the  denomination  at  large.  And 
sometimes  there  are  honorable  reasons  for  withdrawing 
from  full-time  work  in  the  ministry.  For  example,  if  it 
is  impossible  to  support  one’s  family  on  the  salary  which 


THE  CALL  TO  THE  MINISTRY 


255 


the  church  pays,  without  being  embarrassed  continually  by 
debt,  one  is  justified  in  resigning  to  engage  in  secular  em¬ 
ployment  which  will  afford  a  living.  The  important  thing 
in  all  such  changes  is  to  be  certain  that  one  is  prompted  by 
unselfish  motives  such  as  first  led  him  into  the  ministry, 
and  not  chiefly  by  considerations  of  worldly  ambition  and 
private  gain. 

6.  Having  insisted  that  the  ministry  is  a  divine  calling,  let 
it  be  said  also  that  it  is  a  profession,  in  the  sense  at  least 
that  special  training  is  necessary  to  a  high  degree  of  suc¬ 
cess.  Irreparable  injury  has  been  done  by  misguided  per¬ 
sons  who  have  discouraged  young  ministers  from  attending 
college  and  theological  school.  The  level  of  general  culture 
is  rising  continually  in  every  community,  and  professional 
standards  must  be  elevated  correspondingly.  It  is  little 
short  of  tragic  that  the  only  professional  worker  who  has 
made  no  special  preparation  for  his  work  often  is  the  minis¬ 
ter.  It  is  said  that  out  of  every  five  men  in  the  ministry 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  only  one  has  received 
complete  training  for  his  work ;  two  others  have  completed 
the  major  part  or  all  of  a  college  course;  while  the  remain¬ 
ing  two  have  never  attended  a  college  or  theological  school. 
Anyone  in  doubt  about  the  relation  of  training  to  efficiency 
in  the  ministry  should  write  to  Rochester  (Baptist)  Theo¬ 
logical  Seminary,  Rochester,  New  York,  for  their  illuminat¬ 
ing  bulletin  on  this  subject.  This  training  should  consist 
primarily  of  a  broad  foundation  of  general  knowledge  such 
as  a  college  course  affords.  Later,  there  should  be  special¬ 
ized  instruction  in  professional  subjects  and  methods  of 
church  work,  such  as  biblical  interpretation,  church  history, 
Christian  doctrine,  religious  education,  missions,  and  social 
service,  together  with  supervised  practice  in  preaching,  con¬ 
ducting  public  worship,  evangelism,  and  church  administra¬ 
tion.  The  Conference  course  of  study  is  in  no  sense  an 
equivalent  training.  It  is  at  best  an  unsatisfactory  substi¬ 
tute  devised  by  a  church  doing  its  work  largely  with  un¬ 
trained  men,  in  the  hope  of  cultivating  in  them  habits  of 


256 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


study  and  intellectual  tastes  which  will  overcome  in  part 
the  handicap  imposed  by  insufficient  preparation. 

Books  Recommended  for  Further  Study 

Matthew  Simpson,  Yale  Lectures  on  Preaching,  Lectures  I,  II.' 

N.  J.  Burton,  Yale  Lectures  on  Preaching,  pp.  31-46. 

W.  Gladden,  The  Christian  Pastor,  Chapter  IV. 

Charles  E.  Jefferson,  The  Minister  as  Prophet;  Quiet  Hints  to 
Growing  Preachers. 

James  A.  Hensey,  The  Itinerancy — Its  Power  and  Peril. 

Ernest  Clyde  Wareing,  Critical  Hours  in  the  Preacher’s  Life. 

W.  L.  Sperry,  The  Call  to  the  Ministry,  Harvard  Theological  Re¬ 
view,  July,  1923. 


CHAPTER  XXV 


THE  MINISTER’S  STUDY 

Except  in  comparatively  rare  instances  the  minister’s 
study  is  a  combination  of  library,  office,  and  place  of  prayer. 
Here  he  retires  to  enrich  his  mind,  to  do  the  “paper  work” 
necessary  in  administering  the  church  organization,  and  to 
worship.  Ideally,  the  office  work  should  be  cared  for  else¬ 
where  in  order  that  the  hours  of  study  and  devotion  may  be 
protected  from  interruption.  When  this  is  not  possible,  the 
working  day  must  be  divided  so  that  each  phase  of  his  task 
may  receive  his  whole  attention  in  its  own  time. 

i.  The  Minister  as  Student.  The  growing  minister 
must  be  an  earnest  student  throughout  his  whole  life.  Un¬ 
ceasing  intellectual  effort  will  be  required  to  master  the 
truth  which  he  is  to  teach,  and  to  acquire  the  skill  to  express 
it  effectively.  This  is  not  a  denial  of  the  fact  that  God  may 
communicate  his  wisdom  immediately  to  men.  It  is  only 
asserting  that  his  revelation  is  more  likely  to  come  to  the 
man  who  is  honestly  using  his  mind  to  discover  it  than  to 
the  intellectual  loafer  who  regards  study  as  superfluous. 
The  race  has  been  strangely  obsessed  with  the  idea  that 
the  movements  of  the  Holy  Spirit  are  erratic  and  capricious, 
despising  the  ordinary  instruments  of  knowledge  and  em¬ 
ploying  always  unique  and  mysterious  methods.  This  view 
identifies  God  with  the  irregular  and  the  extraordinary,  but 
not  with  the  usual  and  the  commonplace.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  the  “natural”  cannot  be  explained  without  him  any 
more  than  the  “miraculous,”  and  there  is  much  to  suggest 
that  he  will  not  use  a  miracle  if  a  sufficiently  perfect  natural 
instrument  is  at  hand  by  which  to  communicate  his  will. 
It  is  sometimes  asked,  “Why  does  God  speak  through  cer¬ 
tain  individuals  and  not  through  others?”  The  probable 

257 


258 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


answer  is,  “The  primary  reason  why  more  of  the  Word  of 
God  has  come  to  us  through  Isaiah  and  Paul  than  through 
other  men  is  that  the  minds  of  Isaiah  and  Paul  were  better 
fitted  to  receive  these  sublime  truths  than  the  minds  of 
other  men.  This  fitness  may  have  been  due  in  part  to  provi¬ 
dential  causes,  but  it  must  have  been  largely  explained  by 
the  thoroughness  with  which  they  had  prepared  themselves 
for  such  mediumship.”1  The  pearl  of  great  price  in  the 
parable  was  not  discovered  by  a  shiftless  vagabond  who 
hugged  a  comfortable  grate-fire,  but  by  a  traveling  jeweler, 
restless,  eager,  constantly  searching  for  precious  stones. 
The  buried  treasure  was  not  uncovered  by  a  man  who  never 
worked  the  field,  but  by  the  conscientious  tenant  who  held 
himself  to  the  prosaic  business  of  plowing  that  soil  year 
after  year — until  at  last  he  had  his  reward.  In  similar 
fashion  the  priceless  pearl,  the  hidden  treasure  of  divine 
inspiration,  is  discovered,  not  by  the  man  who  neglects  the 
drudgery  of  study,  but  by  him  who  regularly  and  continu¬ 
ously  applies  himself  to  the  hardest  of  intellectual  labor. 
By  mastering  the  truth  which  others  have  proclaimed  about 
God,  he  is  making  his  own  mind  and  heart  fit  instruments 
for  detecting  the  divine  will. 

The  diligence  with  which  the  great  preachers  of  the 
past  gave  themselves  to  hard  study  is  instructive.  Jonathan 
Edwards  said,  “My  method  of  study,  from  my  first  begin¬ 
ning  the  work  of  the  ministry,  has  been  very  much  by  writ¬ 
ing;  applying  myself  in  this  way  to  improve  every  impor¬ 
tant  hint  .  .  .  when  anything  in  reading,  meditation,  or 
conversation  has  been  suggested  to  my  mind  that  seemed 
to  promise  light  on  any  weighty  point ;  thus  penning  what 
appeared  to  me  my  best  thoughts  on  innumerable  subjects 
for  my  own  benefit.”  Samuel  Hopkins  studied  fourteen 
hours  a  day,  generally  rising  at  four  in  the  morning,  oc¬ 
casionally  as  late  as  five  in  the  winter.  Doctor  Chalmers, 
in  the  most  active  portion  of  his  life,  secured  five  hours 


Gladden,  op.  ext.,  p.  87k 


THE  MINISTER’S  STUDY 


259 


daily  for  study.  F.  W.  Robertson  studied  German  by  mak¬ 
ing  written  translations  of  the  best  German  authors.  He 
said,  “I  read  hard,  or  not  at  all — never  skimming,  never 
turning  aside  to  many  inviting  books;  and  Plato,  Aristotle, 
Butler,  Thucydides,  Jonathan  Edwards,  have  passed  like 
the  iron  atoms  of  the  blood  into  my  mental  constitution.” 
His  biographer  says  of  him :  “It  was  his  habit,  when  dress¬ 
ing  in  the  morning,  to  commit  to  memory  daily  a  certain 
number  of  verses  of  the  New  Testament.  In  this  way,  be¬ 
fore  leaving  the  university,  he  had  gone  twice  over  the 
English  version,  and  once  and  a  half  through  the  Greek. 
.  .  .  He  said,  long  afterward,  to  a  friend,  that,  owing  to 
this  practice,  no  sooner  was  any  Christian  doctrine  or  duty 
mentioned  in  conversation,  or  suggested  to  him  by  what  he 
was  writing,  than  all  the  passages  bearing  on  the  point 
seemed  to  array  themselves  in  order  before  him.”  His  idea 
of  study  was  to  have  some  plan,  even  if  a  poor  one,  which 
prevented  discursiveness — in  his  own  words,  “the  steady 
habit  of  looking  forward  to  a  distant  end,  unalterably  work¬ 
ing  on  until  he  had  attained  it — the  habit,  in  fact,  of  never 
beginning  anything  which  is  not  to  be  finished.”2 

But  even  if  the  message  could  be  received  directly  through 
prayer  and  faith  without  mental  toil,  the  problem  of  ex¬ 
pressing  it  clearly  would  remain.  And  the  significance 
which  this  truth  has  for  others  will  be  determined  very 
largely  “by  the  dimensions  and  furniture  of  the  mind 
through  which  it  is  communicated.”  A  mind  well  equipped 
with  a  good  vocabulary  of  words,  abundantly  stored  with 
illustrative  material  gathered  from  wide  reading,  and  skill¬ 
ful  at  sifting  out  the  irrelevant  and  nonessential,  will  be 
able  to  pass  on  this  truth  to  others  as  one  cannot  do  which 
is  furnished  with  nothing  but  good  intentions.  No  one  has 
put  this  matter  more  effectively  than  Gladden.  “Language 
is  the  instrument  by  which  the  greater  part  of  the  minister’s 
work  is  done.  If  he  has  a  message  to  deliver,  it  will  be  con¬ 
gee  J.  M.  Hoppin,  Pastoral  Theology ,  pp.  164-169.  Reprinted  by 
permission  of  Funk  and  Wagnalls  Company. 


26o 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


veyed  in  the  forms  of  human  speech.  The  Word  of  God 
must  reach  the  minds  of  men  through  the  language  of  men. 
All  revelation ,  all  inspiration ,  is  conditioyied  by  this  fact. 
There  can  be  no  more  revelation  than  there  is  language  to 
convey.  ...  It  goes  without  saying  that  the  better  a  man 
understands  the  instrument,  the  more  familiar  he  is  with 
its  structure  and  its  possibilities,  the  more  perfectly  he  can 
convey  his  own  conceptions  to  the  minds  of  other  men.  .  .  . 
The  laws  which  govern  the  inspiration  of  the  prophet  must 
be  in  many  respects  similar  to  those  which  govern  the  in¬ 
spiration  of  the  artist.  The  artist  must  become  familiar 
with  the  forms  by  which  beauty,  the  beauty  of  which  his 
art  is  the  vehicle,  finds  its  best  expression.  Long  and  pain¬ 
ful  courses  of  discipline  are  needful  in  order  that  he  may 
gain  the  power  of  utterance.  .  .  .  We  have  been  told  that 
poets  are  born,  not  made;  but  if  this  implies  that  all  their 
powers  are  the  gift  of  nature,  and  that  none  of  them  is  due 
to  training,  it  is  far  from  the  truth.  The  poet,  for  his  part, 
was  first  compelled  to  learn  the  language  in  which  he  writes ; 
a  great  deal  of  patient  training  was  expended  on  him  by  his 
mother,  and  his  nurse,  and  all  the  household,  before  he  was 
able  to  articulate  the  simplest  words  of  our  common  speech. 
Later  he  was  led  by  many  tutors  through  the  mysteries  of 
the  alphabet  and  spelling-book  and  grammar;  there  is  no 
royal  road  even  for  poets  through  these  mysteries ;  the 
knowledge  must  be  gained  by  toil.  After  the  rudiments  of 
the  language  have  been  mastered,  there  is  a  great  deal  more 
for  him  to  learn  of  the  idioms  and  forms  by  means  of  which 
the  spirit  of  beauty  finds  expression  in  language.  And 
after  the  technique  of  his  art,  so  to  speak,  has  thus  been 
acquired,  if  he  is  to  be  an  interpreter  of  nature  and  life — 
and  this,  as  we  are  taught,  is  the  poet’s  function — there  will 
be  room  for  long  years  of  patient  study  of  nature  and  of 
life  before  he  will  be  able  to  interpret  them  to  any  clear 
purpose.  ...  Of  every  kind  of  art  this  principle  holds  true. 
The  musician  must  prepare  himself  by  the  same  kind  of 
discipline.  There  is  a  certain  manual  facility  which  can  be 


THE  MINISTER'S  STUDY 


261 

gained  only  by  the  most  patient  toil.  .  .  .  The  principle  is 
not  different  in  the  case  of  the  minister,  even  when  we  are 
thinking  of  his  prophetic  function.  Prophecy  is  the  divine 
word  spoken  by  the  human  voice ,  and  the  voice  must  be 
trained  for  speaking.  Inspiration  is  not  caprice ;  it  must 
follow  the  law  which  conditions  all  divine  intervention  in 
behalf  of  men.  .  .  .  The  grace  of  God  is  not  given  to  relieve 
its  from  effort  or  to  discharge  us  from  responsibility,  but  to 
supplement  our  powers  and  to  stimulate  our  activity. 

In  mastering  language  it  is  impossible  to  exaggerate  the 
importance  of  writing.  One  who  always  speaks  extempo¬ 
raneously,  never  undertaking  the  drudgery  of  painstaking 
literary  composition,  will  not  make  language  a  perfect  in¬ 
strument  for  expressing  thought.  Rather  he  will  incline 
to  wordiness  which  may  conceal  thought  when  it  is  not  a 
substitute  for  it.  The  church  suffers  greatly  from  this 
“vice  of  extemporaneity.”  Words  are  merely  symbols  of 
ideas.  Many  men  create  the  impression  when  they  speak 
that  there  is  some  especial  virtue  in  using  as  many  symbols 
as  possible.  But  if  one  sign  by  the  roadside  points  the  way 
clearly,  why  should  the  landscape  be  cluttered  up  with  ten 
others?  The  first  characteristic  of  good  literary  style  is 
clearness,  and  in  saying  a  thing  clearly  one  will  use  the 
fewest  possible  words,  selecting  them  with  the  utmost  care 
so  that  each  will  convey  the  precise  shade  of  meaning  which 
the  speaker  intended.  The  extemporizer  in  public  address 
does  not  have  time  to  choose  his  words  with  discrimination. 
The  demand  for  continuous  movement  forbids  pausing  to 
search  for  just  the  term  he  wishes.  One  who  halts  thus 
wearies  an  audience  quickly.  He  must  take  the  word  near¬ 
est  at  hand,  whether  it  is  the  right  one  or  not,  and  unless 
he  has  expressed  previously  that  thought  in  writing,  search¬ 
ing  the  dictionary  through  for  better  terms  than  those 
which  first  offered  their  services,  the  right  one  will  seldom 


’Reprinted  by  permission  of  Charles  Scribner’s  Sons.  Gladden, 
op.  cit.,  pp.  86-89.  Italics  are  the  author’s. 


262 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


be  available.  The  one  within  reach  will  say  more,  or  less, 
than  he  wished  to  say,  and  it  will  be  necessary  to  seize  an¬ 
other,  and  another,  to  soften  or  sharpen  the  meaning  of  the 
first ;  whereas  if  he  had  written  carefully  in  the  study  when 
he  had  time  to  wait  until  the  word  he  needed  came  to  mind, 
that  very  word  would  have  been  found  lying  on  the  surface 
of  his  mind  when  he  called  for  it  in  extemporaneous  address. 
And  this  applies  to  figures  of  speech  and  illustrations  as 
certainly  as  to  words.  The  “vivid  metaphors,”  “the  felici¬ 
tous  phrase,”  “the  vital  analogy”  are  seldom  the  product  of 
sudden  inspiration  but,  rather,  the  handiwork  of  the  patient 
craftsman  who  wrought  them  out  carefully  on  paper  before 
he  used  them  in  public  speech. 

Thus  the  relation  between  writing  and  concise,  impressive 
public  utterance  is  that  of  cause  and  effect.  There  is  no 
easier  way  to  enrich  one’s  speech.  The  minister  should 
write  completely  at  least  one  sermon  each  week  for  the 
first  ten  years  of  his  ministerial  life.  He  need  not,  he  should 
not  often,  take  the  manuscript  into  the  pulpit.  The  writ¬ 
ing,  nevertheless,  will  affect  profoundly  his  expression. 
As  aids  in  enlarging  his  vocabulary  he  should  read  the  best 
literature,  noting  carefully  the  manner  in  which  others 
declare  themselves.  New  words,  as  well  as  new  ideas, 
should  attract  him,  and  he  should  keep  a  good  dictionary  at 
hand  to  define  accurately  each  unfamiliar  term.  To  make 
them  his  own,  he  should  learn  to  use  these  new  words  ac¬ 
curately  as  rapidly  as  he  acquires  them.  They  will  seem 
awkward  at  first,  but  after  two  or  three  trials  they  become 
a  part  of  his  own  mental  equipment  so  that  he  employs  them 
almost  unconsciously.  A  new  word  a  day  added  thus  to 
one’s  vocabulary  will  enhance  greatly  his  power  of  speech  in 
a  single  year.  The  study  of  synonyms  is  important  too  in 
the  enrichment  of  utterance.  Ideas  must  be  repeated  fre¬ 
quently,  but  they  should  be  clothed  in  new  words  each  time 
they  appear,  to  avoid  a  sense  of  monotony.  The  larger  dic¬ 
tionaries  give  the  equivalent  terms  of  every  important  word. 
A  good  thesaurus  or  book  of  synonyms  and  antonyms 


THE  MINISTER’S  STUDY  263 

should  be  found  on  every  pastor’s  study  table,  and  show 
evidence  of  frequent  consultation. 

The  minister’s  reading  should  be  determined  by  the  na¬ 
ture  of  his  work.  He  is  preeminently  a  teacher  of  the  Chris¬ 
tian  religion  and  his  chief  studies  should  ever  have  to  do 
with  his  professional  interests.  In  a  general  way  it  may  be 
said  that  he  will  always  be  digging  into  the  subjects  to  which 
he  was  introduced  by  the  theological  school  or  the  Confer¬ 
ence  course  of  study.  Four  or  five  hours  of  every  working 
day  should  be  spent  in  this  kind  of  toil.  From  four  to  six 
hours  will  yet  remain  which  can  be  devoted  to  correspond¬ 
ence,  administration,  and  pastoral  visiting. 

This  implies  that  he  should  have  access  to  books,  many 
of  which  must  be  purchased.  In  this  way  he  will  gradually 
assemble  a  professional  library.  The  limited  financial  re¬ 
sources  of  most  pastors  make  it  imperative  that  books 
should  be  selected  with  the  greatest  care.  Few  can  afford 
to  spend  more  than  two  hundred  dollars  a  year  on  their 
libraries.  Many  are  unable  to  appropriate  more  than  sev¬ 
enty-five  dollars  annually  for  this  item.  But  none  can 
afford  to  spend  less.  If  need  be,  the  minister  may  do  with¬ 
out  the  clothes  he  might  wish,  and  reduce  his  diet  to  the 
simplest  articles  of  food,  but  he  must  buy  nourishment  for 
his  mind  whatever  physical  deprivation  is  suffered. 

The  quality  of  a  private  library  is  not  necessarily  deter¬ 
mined  by  its  size.  Some  ministers’  shelves  are  heavily  loaded 
with  worthless  volumes  which  cost  much  money.  Others 
purchase  comparatively  few  books,  but  always  of  the  finest 
type.  A  small  library  of  choice  books  which  can  be  studied 
profitably  again  and  again  is  much  better  than  a  larger  col¬ 
lection  of  inferior  volumes  which  may  be  read  swiftly  and 
then  forgotten.  Generally  speaking,  the  man  of  limited 
income  should  not  purchase  sets  of  theological  books. 
While  there  are  notable  exceptions  (for  example,  religious 
encyclopedias),  these  are  made  to  sell  rather  than  to  inform 
the  mind.  The  minister  does  well  to  buy  single  volumes, 
which  should  be  distributed  among  all  the  major  depart- 


264 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


ments  of  theological  knowledge — (1)  Biblical  Interpreta¬ 
tion,  (2)  Christian  Doctrine  and  Philosophy  of  Religion, 
(3)  Church  History,  (4)  Religious  Education,  (5)  Mis¬ 
sions,  (6)  Social  Ethics,  and  (7)  Practical  Theology.  It 
is  unsafe  in  one’s  early  ministry  to  buy  new  books  without 
advice.  Seek  the  judgment  of  the  best-informed  men  in 
the  Conference,  and  ask  any  theological  teacher  in  the 
church  to  recommend  authors  and  titles.  Do  not  buy  a  book 
that  may  be  exhausted  at  a  single  reading. 

Since  a  private  library  is  always  an  expression  of  indi¬ 
vidual  tastes,  it  is  impossible  for  one  to  prescribe  for  an¬ 
other  the  contents  of  his  reading  shelves.  A  studious  elderly 
minister  will  see  in  his  library  the  record  of  his  varying  in¬ 
tellectual  interests  across  a  period  of  years.  At  one  time  he 
was  fascinated  by  philosophy  and  filled  a  shelf  with  treatises 
on  that  subject.  At  another  he  was  enthusiastic  over  the 
expansion  of  the  church  and  assembled  twenty-five  or  thirty 
volumes  of  church  history  and  religious  biography.  At  still 
another  he  was  absorbed  in  varying  problems  of  biblical 
interpretation — the  prophets,  the  life  and  teachings  of 
Jesus,  the  parables,  the  miracles,  or  the  life  of  Saint  Paul — • 
and  his  volumes  on  those  subjects  will  remind  him  of  that 
period.  Thus  one’s  library  becomes  a  kind  of  autobiography 
of  the  intellect.  These  special  interests,  however,  should 
all  rest  on  a  broad  foundation  of  general  knowledge,  and  it 
is  in  order  to  make  certain  suggestions  about  fundamental 
volumes  which  should  be  in  every  minister’s  library,  with¬ 
out  in  the  least  abridging  the  right  of  the  individual  to  his 
own  special  enthusiasms. 

Because  he  is  primarily  a  teacher  of  the  Bible  this  book 
must  be  the  object  of  his  continuous  study.  He  will  brood 
over  it,  first,  to  enrich  his  own  life,  and,  second,  for  its 
message  concerning  the  spirit,  confident  that  this  record  of 
God’s  dealing  with  the  race  in  other  years  will  be  supremely 
instructive  to  men  to-day  as  they  seek  a  way  to  life  and 
peace.  But  the  Bible  does  not  “wear  its  heart  on  its  sleeve.” 
It  is  not  easy  to  understand.  What  we  get  from  it  will  de- 


THE  MINISTER’S  STUDY 


265 


pend  largely  on  what  we  bring  to  it  in  the  way  of  principles 
of  interpretation.  The  first  books,  then,  to  be  purchased 
by  the  young  minister  as  a  nucleus  for  the  biblical  section 
of  his  library  should  be  a  few  volumes  which  treat  in  a  sim¬ 
ple  and  clear  way  the  subjects  of  biblical  revelation,  inspira¬ 
tion,  and  authority.  J.  Paterson  Smyth’s  How  God  Inspired 
the  Bible ,  and  The  Making  of  the  Bible ;  McConnell’s  Re¬ 
ligious  Certainty  and  Understanding  the  Scriptures ;  Wil¬ 
liam  Newton  Clarke’s  Sixty  Years  With  the  Bible ;  Eiselen’s 
Christian  View  of  the  Old  Testament ;  Dods’  The  Bible — 
Its  Origin  and  Nature ;  A.  S.  Peake’s  The  Nature  of  Scrip¬ 
ture  ;  James  Orr’s  Revelation  and  Inspiration — these  sug¬ 
gest  the  type  of  work  we  have  in  mind.  Later,  technical 
treatises  may  be  added,  but  these  more  elementary  volumes 
will  suffice  in  the  beginning.  Moreover,  there  can  be  no 
proper  understanding  of  biblical  literature  without  a  knowl¬ 
edge  of  the  religious,  political,  and  social  background  of 
every  book ;  and  the  next  most  important  volumes  in  this 
section  will  be  one  or  two  good  “Introductions”  such  as 
Driver’s  or  MacFayden’s  Introduction  to  the  Literature  of 
the  Old  Testament,  and  Moffatt’s  or  Peake’s  Introduction 
to  the  Literature  of  the  New  Testament,  together  with 
Hastings’  Bible  Dictionary  (five  large  volumes)  and  Charles 
Foster  Kent’s  Historical  Bible  (six  small  volumes).  After 
these  general  reference  works  have  been  installed  one  may 
purchase  “commentaries”  and  “expositions”  of  particular 
parts  of  the  Bible.  At  last  one  may  secure  a  good  one- 
volume  commentary  on  the  whole  Bible  (Peake’s  or  Dum- 
melow’s),  and  there  are  excellent  interpretive  translations 
of  the  New  Testament  which  have  more  value  than  some 
commentaries,  for  example,  Moffatt’s  and  Weymouth’s. 
For  the  most  part,  however,  commentaries  come  in  great 
sets,  a  volume,  in  some  instances  two,  devoted  to  each 
book  in  the  Scriptures.  Among  the  more  distinguished  of 
these  in  recent  years  are  the  “Century,”  “Cambridge,”  and 
the  “Expositor’s”  Bibles;  and  the  “Westminster”  and  “In¬ 
ternational  Critical”  commentaries.  They  are  very  expen- 


266 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


sive,  and  the  several  volumes  in  any  set  are  of  unequal 
worth.  On  the  whole,  it  is  generally  better  to  select  single 
volumes  from  all  these  sets  as  one  needs  them  than  to  make 
a  large  investment  in  books,  some  of  which  one  may  not  use 
for  years.  As  suggested  above,  any  minister  should  feel 
at  liberty  to  seek  the  advice  of  any  theological  professor  in 
the  church,  by  correspondence  if  not  by  personal  interview, 
in  selecting  the  worth-while  books.  In  addition  to  the  com¬ 
mentaries  there  are  numberless  individual  studies  on  special 
themes  which  are  rich  in  expository  material. 

It  is  well  to  follow  the  same  method  in  building  intelli¬ 
gently  the  remaining  departments  of  one's  library — one  or 
more  comprehensive  works  which  outline  the  whole  field, 
supplemented  by  special  volumes  on  particular  aspects  or 
periods  of  the  general  subject.  The  basis  of  the  doctrinal 
section  should  be  two  or  three  standard  treatises  on  Chris¬ 
tian  Theology  such  as  Sheldon’s  System  of  Christian  Doc¬ 
trine,  Clarke's  Outline  of  Christian  Theology  and  W.  A. 
Brown’s  Christian  Theology  in  Outline,  together  with  a  few 
reliable  volumes  on  the  philosophical  ground  of  faith,  for 
example,  Strickland’s  Foundations  of  Christian  Belief,  or 
Foundations,  by  Seven  Oxford  Men.  A  knowledge  of  the 
manner  in  which  Christian  teaching  has  developed  through¬ 
out  the  history  of  the  church  is  important  to  a  proper  under¬ 
standing  of  that  teaching,  and  every  minister  should  possess 
an  excellent  work  on  the  history  of  doctrine,  such  as  Fisher’s 
or  Sheldon’s. 

Throughout  one’s  whole  ministry  he  will  add  to  this  sec¬ 
tion  single  volumes  on  special  doctrines,  having  respect, 
first,  for  the  great  beliefs  that  all  bodies  of  Christians  hold  in 
common,  and  afterward  for  the  doctrines  of  religious  ex¬ 
perience  in  which  Methodists  have  been  especially  inter¬ 
ested.  The  following  titles  will  illustrate  what  we  have  in 
mind:  Knudson’s  Religious  Teaching  of  the  Old  Testament ; 
Sheldon's  or  Stevens’  New  Testament  Theology ;  Streeter 
and  others,  Immortality,  Prayer,  and  The  Spirit;  Bowne, 
The  Divine  Immanence,  Studies  in  Christianity ;  Jefferson, 


THE  MINISTER'S  STUDY 


267 


Things  Fundamental;  Mackintosh,  The  Person  and  Work 
of  Jesus ;  McConnell,  Essentials  of  Methodism ,  and  Diviner 
Immanence. 

In  the  department  of  church  history,  the  introductory 
work  should  sketch  in  outline  the  whole  story  of  the  ex¬ 
pansion  of  Christianity.  This  is  done  well  in  a  single  vol¬ 
ume  by  Williston  Walker.  If  a  work  of  several  volumes 
is  desired,  buy  Sheldon’s  History  of  the  Christian  Church. 
Later  add  volumes  on  particular  periods,  and  biographies  of 
great  churchmen  in  all  periods.  After  these  a  volume  on  the 
Protestant  denominations  and  a  good  history  of  Methodism 
and  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  would  complete  the 
section. 

The  fundamental  volumes  in  the  department  of  religious 
education  will  deal  with  the  psychology  of  religious  experi¬ 
ence  among  children  and  adults.  Next  should  come  vol¬ 
umes  on  principles,  ideals,  and  methods  of  teaching  religion. 
And  finally  there  should  be  several  volumes  on  the  organ¬ 
ization  and  administration  of  church  schools.  The  reader 
is  referred  to  the  books  recommended  for  study  at  the  close 
of  the  chapter  on  religious  education  (XV). 

In  developing  the  section  on  Missions,  there  should  be, 
first,  two  or  three  volumes  on  the  great  ethnic  faiths  of  the 
non-Christian  world  such  as  Soper’s  Religions  of  Mankind, 
or  Hopkins’,  Menzies’,  or  G.  F.  Moore’s  History  of  Re¬ 
ligions.  After  these,  historical  volumes  treating  of  par¬ 
ticular  mission  fields,  and  biographies  of  great  missionary 
leaders  should  be  added,  together  with  a  number  of  texts 
expounding  missionary  ideals  for  the  mission  fields,  and 
methods  of  missionary  education  that  may  be  adopted  in 
the  local  church. 

The  department  of  Social  Ethics  will  be  in  many  ways 
the  most  important,  yet  the  most  difficult  to  develop.  The 
basis  should  be  a  few  reliable  volumes  on  social  organiza¬ 
tion,  interpreting  the  mutual  relations  of  the  individual  and 
society,  and  the  significance  of  economics  for  both ;  next, 
there  should  be  several  volumes  setting  forth  the  principles 


268 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


and  methods  of  the  more  significant  social  movements,  such 
as  socialism,  trade-unionism,  syndicalism;  and  lastly,  there 
should  be  at  least  a  half  dozen  of  the  great  statements  of 
the  ethical  ideal  of  Jesus  for  social  relationships.  The 
reader  is  referred  to  the  books  recommended  for  further 
study  at  the  conclusion  of  Chapter  XVII. 

The  section  on  Practical  Theology  should  contain  a  great 
variety  of  books  having  to  do  with  the  technique  of  church 
work.  Some  of  the  great  expositions  of  the  art  of  preach¬ 
ing  made  annually  for  a  long  period  by  the  Yale  lecturers 
and  the  great  teachers  of  homiletics  should  be  secured.  At 
least  one  new  volume  of  this  sort  should  be  read  earnestly 
each  year  to  keep  one’s  ideals  untarnished.  There  should 
be  a  good  collection  of  the  best  sermons  by  preachers  living 
and  dead,  not  for  the  sake  of  the  material  they  contain  but 
for  the  standard  they  set  in  the  matter  of  literary  form ; 
also  a  few  works  on  hymnology,  several  expositions  of  the 
ideals  and  methods  of  public  worship,  devotional  volumes 
for  the  spiritual  enrichment  of  the  preacher’s  own  life,  and 
many  volumes  on  church  methods  and  administration. 
(See  books  recommended  in  Sections  I  and  II.) 

The  morning  hours  of  each  day  should  be  dedicated  sa¬ 
credly  to  devotions  and  professional  study.  There  will  be 
another  hour  or  two,  generally  in  the  evening,  besides  va¬ 
cation  periods,  which  may  be  utilized  in  reading  general 
literature  and  periodicals.  Here  one  may  follow  his  own 
taste.  History,  biography,  science,  essays,  fiction,  poetry, 
all  have  peculiar  values  for  the  preacher,  and  in  the  course 
of  a  year  he  should  read  them  all.  History,  biography,  and 
science,  being  descriptions  of  life,  will  supply  an  abundance 
of  the  best  illustrative  material.  Essays  will  suggest  themes 
for  sermons.  Fiction  and  poetry  will  be  recreative  and  at 
the  same  time  cultivate  the  power  of  imagination  without 
which  the  minister  cannot  attain  to  excellence  in  anything. 
Upon  his  reading  table  should  be  found  the  official  weekly 
of  his  denomination,  a  digest  of  current  events  and  news, 
religious  periodicals  like  The  Christian  Century,  the  Meth- 


THE  MINISTER'S  STUDY 


269 


odist  Review,  and  The  Journal  of  Religion,  together  with 
at  least  one  great  magazine  of  general  literature  such  as 
The  Atlantic  Monthly,  The  Yale  Review,  Harper’s,  or 
Scribner’s. 

One  should  learn  the  art  of  reading  rapidly  the  lighter 
kinds  of  prose,  both  general  and  theological.  There  is  in 
every  well-written  paragraph  a  single  sentence,  sometimes  a 
single  phrase,  which  summarizes  the  whole,  and  good  read¬ 
ers  know  how,  at  a  glance,  to  fasten  upon  these  central 
words.  To  mark  them  with  pencil  makes  it  possible  to  re¬ 
view  quickly  the  contents  of  the  chapter  or  book  with  little 
effort. 

The  only  way  to  conserve  the  results  of  one’s  reading  is 
to  make  notes.  The  most  interesting  information,  the 
most  impressive  illustrations,  and  the  most  suggestive  in¬ 
terpretations  will  inevitably  escape  unless  they  are  rendered 
permanent  by  writing.  After  Phillips  Brooks’  death  his 
biographer  found  many  notebooks  filled  with  jottings  as  he 
had  read  and  outlines  of  sermons  as  they  had  first  come 
to  him — the  germs  of  his  greatest  discourses.  And  prac¬ 
tically  every  successful  minister  reads  with  a  pencil  in  his 
hand.  It  is  possible,  however,  to  keep  one’s  notes  in  such 
form  that  they  are  of  little  value.  The  bound  notebook 
and  scrapbook  “keep”  things  too  literally.  It  is  necessary 
to  read  every  page  of  every  book  to  find  what  one  wants. 
Notes  and  clippings  must  be  indexed  in  some  practical  and 
simple  manner  to  be  useful. 

The  following  method  is  employed  by  one  of  the  most 
successful  Methodist  pastors,  with  the  result  that  all  the 
data  he  has  collected  concerning  any  subject  through  his 
whole  ministry  is  available  immediately  for  use : 

(1)  All  books  in  his  library  are  numbered  and  arranged 
on  his  shelves  in  consecutive  order. 

(2)  He  has  clipped  interesting  articles  on  every  conceiv¬ 
able  subject.  These  are  numbered  consecutively  from  1  to 
5,000  as  they  have  accumulated,  without  any  reference  to 
subject,  and  are  filed  in  folders  containing  fifty  clippings 


270 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


each;  for  example,  Folder  No.  i  holds  the  clippings  num¬ 
bered  from  i  to  49;  No.  2,  from  50  to  99;  No.  3,  from  100 
to  149;  etc. 

(3)  His  personal  jottings  have  been  made  on  separate 
sheets  of  note  paper  and  are  filed  separately  in  the  same 
manner  as  his  clippings. 

(4)  His  sermons  are  preserved  in  strong  manila  en¬ 
velopes  on  each  of  which  appears  a  number,  the  subject  of 
the  sermon,  when,  and  where  preached. 

(5)  All  this  material  is  indexed  carefully  in  a  card  in¬ 
dex  under  fewer  than  one  hundred  topics  arranged  alpha¬ 
betically.  He  began  with  a  much  smaller  number  and  de¬ 
veloped  additional  topics  as  there  was  need.  The  follow¬ 
ing  will  suggest  the  character  of  the  groupings :  Assur¬ 
ance,  Atonement,  Authority,  Bible,  Church,  Education, 
Faith,  God,  Holy  Spirit,  Industry,  Inspiration,  Jesus  Christ, 
Methodists,  Missions,  Politics,  Prayer,  Press,  Recreation, 
Regeneration,  Social  Movements,  Sunday  School,  Tem¬ 
perance,  Texts  and  Subjects.  As  he  comes  upon  any  im¬ 
pressive  fact  or  suggestion  in  his  reading  he  makes  note  of 
it  under  its  appropriate  topic  in  his  index. 

Under  each  heading  there  would  be  dozens  of  cards  like 
the  following  on  “Prayer”: 


Meaning  of  Prayer .  B  248-43 

Prayer  and  Daily  Life .  C  16-884 

Prayer  in  the  Life  of  Jesus .  S  127 

Missions  and  Prayer .  B  274-123 

Illustration  .  N  39-1962 


These  symbols  tell  him  that  in  Book  No.  248  in  his  library, 
page  43,  there  is  a  chapter  on  the  “Meaning  of  Prayer,” 
and  in  Book  No.  274,  page  123,  another  phase  of  the  subject 
is  discussed.  He  has  also  a  clipping  in  Folder  16,  No.  884. 
Once  he  preached  on  “Prayer  in  the  Life  of  Jesus,”  Sermon 
127;  and  in  his  Note-file,  Folder  39,  Note  1962,  he  once 
recorded  a  valuable  illustration.  He  has  a  score  of  other 
cards  on  this  same  general  subject,  containing  material 


THE  MINISTER’S  STUDY 


271 


enough  for  a  dozen  sermons  on  every  phase  of  the  subject 
and  all  within  reach. 

2.  The  Minister’s  Office.  The  minister’s  office  work 
should  be  cared  for  outside  of  the  morning  hours  devoted 
to  study.  If  he  is  so  fortunate  as  to  have  a  good  secretary, 
this  work  will  seldom  need  more  than  thirty  minutes  per¬ 
sonal  attention  each  day  from  him.  Comparatively  few 
pastors,  however,  have  such  assistance  and  must  be  their 
own  clerks.  If  this  work  requires  more  than  one  and  a  half 
hours  per  day  on  the  average,  he  is  justified  in  asking  the 
official  board  to  make  an  appropriation  for  stenographic 
help,  for  the  pastor’s  time  is  too  valuable  to  spend  a  large 
amount  of  it  keeping  records  and  running  a  typewriter 
which  some  one  else  can  do  better  for  fifty  cents  or  less  an 
hour.  The  best  available  time  for  office  work  probably  is 
in  the  early  afternoon  just  after  lunch  and  before  it  is  wise 
to  begin  his  afternoon  calling. 

3.  The  Minister’s  Devotional  Life.  There  is  nothing 
more  important  for  the  pastor  than  the  culture  of  his  own 
spiritual  life.  His  energies,  constantly  being  drained,  must, 
as  constantly,  be  replenished.  Happily  his  intellectual  toil 
and  pastoral  visitation  among  the  people  of  the  community 
will  often  refresh  his  spirit  if  his  attitude  in  them  be  prayer¬ 
ful.  For,  as  Doctor  Fairbaim  says,  “It  may  be  laid  down 
as  a  general  principle  that  the  whole  of  a  minister’s  labors 
should  be  intermingled  with  meditation  and  prayer.  He 
should  never  be  simply  a  man  of  learning  and  study,  for  this 
itself  may  become  a  snare  to  him;  it  may  even  serve  to 
stand  between  his  soul  and  God,  and  nurse  a  spirit  of  world¬ 
liness  in  one  of  its  most  refined  and  subtle  forms.”4  But 
in  addition  he  must  engage  regularly  in  such  special  private 
exercises  as  are  designed  to  make  him  conscious  of  the  pres¬ 
ence  and  peace  and  power  of  God  in  his  own  heart.  The 
first  of  these  is  the  meditative  reading  of  the  more  devo¬ 
tional  and  liturgical  parts  of  the  Bible.  The  great  hymns 


4Quoted  by  Gladden,  op.  cit.,  p.  105. 


272  THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 

of  the  church,  also,  read  thoughtfully  and  memorized,  have 
power  to  nourish  the  spirit.  Furthermore,  the  reading  of 
prayers  and  religious  poetry  will  help  induce  the  mood  of 
worship  in  which,  finally,  the  soul  of  the  man  himself  comes 
to  self-expression  and  reaches  out  to  lay  hold  of  God  at  first 
hand.  He  who  is  not  fully  aware  of  the  necessity  for  such 
communion  is  not  fit  to  preach  the  gospel. 

Books  Recommended  for  Further  Study 

Washington  Gladden,  The  Christian  Pastor,  Chapter  V. 

Frank  W.  Gunsaulus,  The  Minister  and  the  Spiritual  Life. 

P.  T.  Forsyth,  Positive  Preaching  and  the  Modern  Mind,  Chap¬ 
ter  V. 

Evelyn  Underhill,  Practical  Mysticism. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 


PASTORAL  VISITING 

To  many  pastors  the  most  distasteful  phase  of  their  work 
is  visiting  from  house  to  house.  This  antipathy  expresses 
itself  often  in  mere  neglect ;  but  occasionally,  in  a  frank  be¬ 
littling  of  the  task.  It  is  said,  “My  business  is  not  ringing 
door  bells !”  or,  “I  do  my  work  with  my  head,  not  my  feet !” 
or,  “I  am  a  shepherd,  not  a  sheep-dog.”  Quite  naturally 
attempts  are  made  to  justify  this  feeling  on  rational 
grounds.  “Let  the  people  send  for  me  as  they  do  the  physi¬ 
cian  when  they  desire  my  services” ;  or,  “A  minister  invites 
serious  criticism  by  visiting  the  women  when  their  hus¬ 
bands  are  not  at  home”;  or,  “Pastoral  calling  is  unnecessary 
in  the  highly  organized  church  of  to-day” — these  and  other 
reasons  are  urged  as  an  excuse  for  visiting  only  the  sick 
and  the  troubled. 

The  fundamental  difficulty  here  arises  from  a  misun¬ 
derstanding  of  the  purpose  and  method  of  the  pastoral  call. 
If  one  contemplates  the  trying  exercise  described  by  Dr. 
William  M.  Taylor,  a  distinguished  Congregational  min¬ 
ister  in  New  York  in  the  latter  part  of  the  nineteenth  cen¬ 
tury,  it  is  better  that  he  leave  it  undone.  “I  was  first  set¬ 
tled,”  he  says,  “over  a  church  of  about  one  hundred  and 
eighty  members,  many  of  whom  resided  in  the  village  in 
which  the  place  of  worship  was  situated,  but  a  considerable 
number  of  whom  were  farmers  scattered  over  an  area  of 
about  six  miles  in  length  by  about  two  in  breadth.  I  made 
my  visits  systematically,  week  by  week,  taking  the  parish  in 
manageable  districts.  At  first  I  was  accompanied  on  each 
occasion  by  an  elder.  It  was  expected  that  I  should  ask  a 
few  questions  of  the  children,  assemble  the  members  of  the 
household,  give  a  formal  address,  and,  then  conclude  with 

2/3 


274 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


prayer.  The  presence  of  the  lay  brother'  was  a  great  em¬ 
barrassment.  I  supposed  that  because  he  was  with  me  I 
should  have  a  new  address  in  every  house,  and  should  have 
a  prayer  in  every  instance  perfectly  distinct  from  any  which 
I  had  formerly  offered.  ...  So  I  went  on  from  house  to 
house,  making  a  new  address  in  each  until,  when  it  was 
toward  evening,  and  I  had  walked  perhaps  five  or  six  miles 
and  made  ten  or  twelve  addresses,  I  was  more  dead  than 
alive.  You  cannot  wonder  that,  in  these  circumstances, 
pastoral  visitation  became  the  bite  noir  of  my  life,  and  I 
positively  hated  it.  Thus  prosecuted,  it  was  simply  and  only 
drudgery,  and,  so  far  as  I  know,  was  not  productive  of 
any  good  result.”1  This  kind  of  visiting  implies  an  aris¬ 
tocratic  view  of  the  minister’s  relation  to  the  members  of  his 
church.  Calling  is  an  official  function,  a  kind  of  spiritual 
inspection  tour  in  which  he  formally  peeps  into  their  souls 
to  see  that  they  are  swept  and  garnished.  And  after  the 
manner  of  official  affairs,  the  etiquette  of  the  occasion  is 
prescribed  in  great  detail.  This  solemn  farce  gave  the  pas¬ 
tor  no  real  knowledge  of  his  people,  nor  did  it  permit  them 
to  derive  any  benefit  from  his  presence,  for  an  atmosphere 
of  unreality  wrapped  both  him  and  them  about. 

But  suppose  that  he  had  been  actuated  by  the  democratic 
motive  of  friendship,  going  forth  to  his  calling,  not  because 
custom  and  tradition  prescribed  it,  but  because  he  sincerely 
desired  to  visit  with  old  friends  and  to  make  new  ones 
among  young  and  old  alike.  And  suppose,  too,  that  he,  in 
genuine  friendliness,  had  come  informally  instead  of  for¬ 
mally,  upsetting  the  routine  of  family  life  as  little  as  pos¬ 
sible,  adjusting  himself  to  the  mood  and  circumstances  in 
every  home ;  praying  here  because  it  was  perfectly  natural 
to  do  so ;  omitting  the  prayer  and  even  religious  conversa¬ 
tion  there  because  it  would  have  been  an  embarrassment  to 
everyone;  staying  an  hour  in  one  place,  and  only  five  min¬ 
utes  in  another,  for  precisely  the  same  reason — that  it  was 

"‘Reprinted  by  permission  of  Charles  Scribner’s  Sons.  Quoted  by 
Gladden,  op.  ext.,  p.  I97f. 


PASTORAL  VISITING 


275 


the  wise  and  judicious  thing  for  a  friend  to  do.  On  this 
view  of  the  matter  pastoral  visiting  becomes  a  great  ad¬ 
venture  with  the  prospect  ahead  of  endless  variety — a  fas¬ 
cinating  game,  the  object  of  which  is  to  secure  the  good  will 
of  as  many  different  persons  as  there  are  members  of  his 
constituency  and  show  himself  an  equally  good  friend  to 
all.  If  any  object  that  “social  calling”  of  this  sort  is  not 
religious,  it  is  well  to  remember  that  one  cannot  win  people 
to  Christ  until  he  has  first  won  them  to  himself.  More¬ 
over,  we  have  no  right  to  regard  the  social  call  as  neces¬ 
sarily  lacking  in  religious  value.  The  religious  motive  does 
not  express  itself  exclusively  in  formal  devotional  exercises. 
The  call  which  promotes  unselfish  fellowship,  deepens  hu¬ 
man  sympathy,  and  increases  the  sense  of  brotherhood  is  as 
certainly  religious  as  one  which  definitely  concerns  itself 
with  religious  subjects.  Bishop  Quayle  gives  a  valuable 
hint  to  the  pastor  when  he  remarks,  “That  every  call  a  pas¬ 
tor  makes  should  be  of  the  revival  order  is  simply  a  piece 
of  grievous  misconception.” 

Again,  pastoral  visiting  has  no  terrors  for  the  minister 
who  relates  it  clearly  in  his  thought  to  his  preaching.  All 
sermonic  material  is  not  gathered  from  books.  Much  of 
it  comes  directly  from  life.  We  have  seen  that,  according 
to  the  Protestant  theory  of  worship,  the  minister  acts  as  the 
representative  of  the  congregation,  giving  expression  to 
their  collective  thought  and  striving.  This  is  true  of  the 
sermon  as  well  as  of  the  prayers.  But  how  can  he  know 
what  the  people  are  thinking  if  he  refuses  to  mingle  with 
them  under  circumstances  which  lead  them  to  express  them¬ 
selves  freely?  We  do  not  mean  to  suggest  that  he  should 
show  servile  regard  for  any  individual’s  opinion,  or  that  he 
should  fear  to  speak  his  mind  when  he  differs  honestly  from 
others.  The  hope  of  lifting  the  congregation  to  higher 
levels  of  thinking  and  feeling  and  living  rests  largely  upon 
the  fact  that  the  minister’s  thinking  shall  not  always  con¬ 
form  to  that  of  others.  But  we  read  that  “the  spirit  of  a 
man  is  the  candle  of  the  Lord”;  that  is,  God  reveals  him- 


276 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


self  through  human  beings.  We  are  likely  to  find  the 
beautiful,  the  courageous,  the  feroic,  the  virtuous  among 
simple  persons  as  well  as  among  the  most  learned.  And 
how  shall  we  receive  the  inspiration  of  their  lives  if  we  hold 
ourselves  aloof  from  them?  Pastoral  visiting  is  highly 
accredited  as  a  method  of  gathering  homiletical  materials, 
of  acquiring  the  truth  the  congregation  may  have  for  the 
minister. 

Yet  another  conception  of  ministerial  calling  will  con¬ 
vert  it  from  an  unpleasant  duty  into  a  high  privilege.  The 
auricular  confession  of  the  Roman  Church  rests  upon  a 
sound  psychological  principle — the  demand  of  the  human 
spirit  in  moments  of  worry,  excitement,  and  remorse,  for 
an  opportunity  to  unburden  itself.  It  seeks  an  ear  into 
which  it  may  pour  its  feelings.  Evangelical  Protestantism, 
for  good  cause,  rejects  the  Catholic  method  of  providing 
this  ear,  and  finds  in  pastoral  visiting  a  better  device  to 
serve  the  same  end.  This  is  in  Bishop  McConnell’s  mind 
when  he  suggests  that,  in  visiting  the  people  in  their  homes, 
the  pastor  shall  seek,  not  so  much  to  become  a  good  talker, 
as  a  good  listener.  To  give  sympathetic  heed  to  what  others 
feel  inclined  to  say  to  us,  though  it  may  seem  trivial  and 
commonplace ;  to  direct  conversation  without  forcing  con¬ 
fidences,  so  that  men  and  women  and  children  may  talk 
frankly  about  what  concerns  them  most;  to  be  patient  while 
a  nervous,  perplexed,  annoyed  soul  eagerly  lays  its  fears 
and  hopes  before  us — is  to  render,  often,  the  greatest  pos¬ 
sible  service.  It  may  be  that  a  word  of  wise  counsel  can  be 
given,  or  that  relief  may  be  afforded  through  prayer.  But 
the  very  act  itself  of  discharging  the  load  of  pent-up  emo¬ 
tion  loosens  the  tension  and  relaxes  the  strain  so  that  the 
weary  soul  “feels  better,”  though  the  outward  situation 
may  remain  just  as  it  was. 

“If  a  pastor  shows  himself  willing  to  listen,  and  can  listen 
without  fidgeting  in  a  hurry  to  get  to  the  next  call  on  his 
list,  he  will  be  astonished  to  see  how  thoroughly  people  will 
open  to  him  the  depths  of  their  lives,  and  how  often  they 


PASTORAL  VISITING 


277 


will  give  him  a  message  which  is  a  genuine  voice  of  hu¬ 
manity.  A  successful  pastor  once  told  me  of  the  following 
experience:  A  member  of  his  church  suddenly  met  a  terri¬ 
ble  grief.  For  days  the  stricken  man  sat  almost  in  silence, 
but  when  my  friend  called  on  him  he  was  moved  to  talk  by 
the  rare  sympathy  of  a  skilled  physician  of  souls,  for  my 
friend  possessed  such  rare  sympathy.  The  mourner  talked 
for  one  hour,  for  two,  for  three,  and  found  his  way  toward 
the  light  as  he  himself  talked.  For  the  rest  of  his  life  he 
held  in  grateful  honor  the  memory  of  the  pastor  who  lis¬ 
tened  while  he  talked.  Now,  what  the  mourner  gained  as 
he  thus  thought  aloud  toward  the  light  was  not  less  than 
the  pastor  learned.  The  pastor  heard  not  just  the  man 
talking;  he  heard  the  voice  of  stricken  humanity  and  a  note 
from  that  voice  sounded  thereafter  from  his  pulpit.  One 
reason  for  encouraging  people  ‘to  talk  themselves  clear  out’ 
is  that  in  the  experiences  which  are  most  peculiarly  our  own 
we  may  find  ourselves  to  be  most  like  other  people.  Who 
of  us  has  not  had  thoughts  and  feelings  which  have  seemed 
so  peculiarly  his  own  that  he  has  been  afraid  to  mention 
them  to  others  for  fear  of  being  misunderstood  and  per¬ 
haps  laughed  at?  Yet  who  of  us  has  not  had  the  ex¬ 
perience  of  discovering  that  such  thoughts  or  feelings  when 
actually  expressed  have  been  those  that  other  people  have 
seemed  to  understand  best?  Many  of  these  most  intimate 
experiences  are  most  catholic  in  their  sweep.  The  man  who 
knows  these  peculiarly  personal  experiences  is  able  to  preach 
in  widely  human  terms.  Moreover,  apart  from  all  such 
intimacies,  the  preacher  who,  with  a  consecrated  desire  to 
serve,  mingles  most  closely  with  his  fellows  is  the  one  who 
can  most  genuinely  utter  the  voice  which  we  call  the  voice 
of  humanity.”2 

Finally,  it  accords  with  the  social  view  of  the  minister’s 
relation  to  the  church  to  insist  that  in  his  pastoral  visiting 
he  acts  as  the  representative  of  the  whole  congregation. 


F.  J.  McConnell,  The  Preacher  and  the  People ,  pp.  90-92. 


278 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


He  is  the  voice  through  which  all  the  members  speak  to 
each. 

These  considerations  make  pastoral  visiting  an  all-im¬ 
portant  part  of  the  minister’s  work.  Indeed,  they  justify 
Vinet  in  his  statement  that  willingness  to  visit  from  house 
to  house  is  the  final  test  of  a  call  to  the  ministry.  “Public 
speaking  is  comparatively  easy  and  agreeable ;  we  can  only 
be  sure  of  our  vocation  to  the  ministry  when  we  feel  drawn 
and  impelled  to  exercise  the  duties  of  the  care  of  souls/’ 
It  would  greatly  simplify  matters  if  a  manual  could  be 
prepared,  such  as  some  have  pleaded  for3  containing  “ex¬ 
amples  and  rules  for  the  examination  of  the  burdened  con¬ 
science  governing  the  wants  of  souls  seeking  guidance  and 
help,  and  the  ways  for  meeting  them  sanctioned  by  God’s 
Word,  the  church’s  discipline,  and  the  Christian  experience 
of  all  the  past.”  But  the  technique  of  pastoral  oversight 
cannot  be  thus  codified.  Imagination,  insight,  and  sensi¬ 
tiveness  to  moods  and  conditions  are  indispensable.  With¬ 
out  these,  rules  are  ineffective.  With  them,  rules  are  not 
needed.  If  the  pastor  is  not  the  kind  of  person  who  does 
the  right  thing  almost  instinctively  and  intuitively,  he  is 
not  likely  to  do  it  because  it  is  commanded ;  or  if  he  should 
go  through  the  prescribed  actions,  it  would  be  in  a  spirit 
that  would  make  them  ridiculous.  Nevertheless,  a  few  gen¬ 
eral  suggestions  may  be  helpful  in  dealing  with  certain  types 
of  calls. 

1.  General  Calling.  By  this  we  mean  the  regular  and 
systematic  visitation  of  every  family  in  the  membership  and 
constituency  of  the  church.  The  pastor  may  have  assist¬ 
ance  in  this  work,  but  he  himself  can  never  be  excused  from 
participating  in  it,  however  large  his  congregation  or  how¬ 
ever  numerous  his  helpers.  No  one  has  a  right  to  regard 
himself  as  a  good  shepherd  who  does  not  plan  to  visit  per¬ 
sonally  every  family  at  least  once  a  year.  When  F.  B. 
Meyer,  S.  Parkes  Cadman,  Charles  Reynolds  Brown,  and 

!See  Bishop  A.  N.  Littlejohn,  in  The  Christian  Ministry  at  the 
Close  of  the  Nineteenth  Century,  p.  322. 


PASTORAL  VISITING 


279 


Bishop  McConnell  never  passed  a  year  as  pastors  without 
making  at  least  a  thousand  calls  (Bishop  Quayle  always 
visited  every  family  once  a  quarter),  others  may  indulge  no 
hope  of  pardon  for  neglecting  this  work. 

The  busiest  pastors  have  only  to  plan  intelligently  and 
conscientiously  for  this  visiting  to  get  into  every  home  regu¬ 
larly  each  year.  Let  them  divide  the  total  number  of  calls 
which  should  be  made  annually  by  fifty-two  to  discover 
how  much  work  must  be  done  each  week,  and  then  see  to  it 
that  as  early  in  the  week  as  possible  the  appropriate  number 
of  visits  is  made.  If  one  were  to  spend  but  three  hours  a 
day,  five  days  a  week  in  visiting  the  people,  he  could  make 
fifteen  hundred  calls  in  a  year,  allowing  a  half  hour  for 
each  visit.  In  few  churches  will  it  be  necessary  to  make  a 
larger  number,  and  most  churches  will  demand  less.  This 
will  leave  four  or  five  hours  daily  for  study,  and  two  more 
for  correspondence  and  administration,  provided  the  min¬ 
ister  is  willing  to  work  nine  or  ten  hours  each  day — and 
he  should  be  ashamed  to  work  less. 

a.  “What  is  the  purpose  of  such  calling?”  First,  the 
establishment  of  friendly  relations  between  the  minister  and 
every  member  of  every  family.  These  relations  spring  up 
only  as  the  result  of  careful  cultivation.  The  diligent  pas¬ 
tor  will  carry  with  him  constantly  a  visiting  list  containing 
not  only  the  names  of  the  heads  of  the  family  but  of  every 
child  and  other  person  in  each  home,  and  when  he  calls, 
will  inquire  thoughtfully  concerning  each  by  name.  He 
will  keep  a  memorandum  of  pertinent  facts  about  each  in¬ 
dividual.  One  of  the  great  pastors  of  American  Method¬ 
ism  twenty-five  years  ago  was  the  Rev.  Henry  A.  Buchtel, 
D.D.,  who  is  known  to  the  church  now  as  chancellor  emer¬ 
itus  of  the  University  of  Denver  and  former  governor  of 
Colorado.  On  his  first  visit  in  a  home  he  was  accustomed 
to  inquire  carefully  for  the  names  and  birthdays  of  all 
young  people  in  the  family.  The  occasion  for  this  ap¬ 
peared  later  when  the  children  on  every  successive  natal 
day  received  from  their  pastor  letters  written  in  his  own 


28o 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


hand,  and  never  two  alike.  Who  could  resist  such  over¬ 
tures  of  friendliness?  To  recall  that  on  your  last  visit  the 
father  was  ill,  to  remember  that  James  is  interested  in  col¬ 
lecting  stamps,  and  to  send  your  regards  by  her  mother  to 
Mary,  who  is  at  college,  may  be  small  matters,  but  they  do 
much  to  bind  people  to  you.  And  whatever  will  do  that 
is  very  important. 

The  second  object  of  this  general  calling  is  to  discover 
any  who  may  be  troubled,  disaffected,  or  indifferent,  and  to 
render  such  individual  aid  as  lies  in  one’s  power. 

Third,  this  kind  of  calling  binds  the  church  constituency 
into  a  single  spiritual  unity.  Like  a  human  shuttle-cock 
the  pastor  moves  back  and  forth  through  the  community, 
carrying  the  same  spirit  and  the  same  ideals  into  all  homes, 
counseling,  sympathizing,  admonishing,  rebuking,  encour¬ 
aging  as  each  case  may  demand,  but  all  to  the  same  end. 
Nothing  could  be  more  valuable  from  the  standpoint  of 
church  organization.  Commercial  and  industrial  corpora¬ 
tions  often  pay  welfare  workers  large  salaries  to  do  just 
this  among  their  employees. 

Finally,  it  should  be  said  that  in  this  persistent  work  of 
visiting  the  pastor  keeps  his  parish  maps  up  to  date.  He 
constantly  re-surveys  the  field,  noting  new  facts  and  faces 
in  the  community,  changes  of  residence,  and  the  like. 

b.  “ What  do  you  do  when  you  calif  Chiefly,  carry  a 
spirit  of  buoyant  faith  and  hearty  cheer  into  the  homes  of 
the  community.  A  sanctified  imagination  (common  sense) 
will  suggest  the  particular  things  which  should  be  done. 
These  will  vary  with  the  personality  of  the  pastor  and  with 
the  conditions  which  he  finds.  If  he  arrives  inopportunely, 
say  in  the  midst  of  housecleaning,  or  just  as  his  hosts  are 
preparing  to  go  out,  or  when  other  company  is  present, 
he  will  make  everyone  happy  by  wishing  all  “good  day” 
and  leaving  in  a  moment  or  two.  Let  him  not  be  deceived 
by  assurances  that  he  must  stay.  A  courteous  mistress  will 
always  conceal,  if  possible,  any  embarrassment  which  a 
guest  unwittingly  may  cause.  Match  her  courtesy  with  an- 


PASTORAL  VISITING 


281 

other  equally  fine  and  refuse  to  interfere  further  with  her 
plans,  which  are  important,  at  least  to  her.  “The  getting 
away  is  quite  as  much  of  an  art  as  coming,”  says  our  wise 
Bishop  Quayle.  “Many  times  preachers  are  so  engrossed 
with  their  pastoral  concerns  that  they  do  not  get  at  the 
magnitude  of  the  concerns  of  others.”4 

On  the  other  hand,  circumstances  may  justify  the  pastor 
in  lingering  long  to  talk.  Should  the  home  be  one  in  which 
dwells  a  lonely  soul  who  is  largely  cut  off  from  religious 
and  social  fellowship,  and  upon  whose  hands  time  hangs 
heavily,  stay  as  long  as  you  choose,  talking  about  the  life 
and  activities  of  the  church,  telling  all  the  good  things  you 
know  of  persons  and  institutions  in  the  community,  though, 
of  course,  the  conversation  should  never  degenerate  into 
mere  gossip.  If  the  host  be  devoutly  minded,  it  will  be 
quite  in  order  to  read  a  helpful  portion  from  the  Scriptures 
and  pray  briefly  before  leaving.  This  prayer  may  be  made 
sitting  or  standing  as  well  as  kneeling. 

Again,  it  might  be  appropriate  to  stay  and  listen,  rather 
than  talk.  As  previously  noted,  there  are  burdened  spirits 
who  need  nothing  so  much  as  a  sympathetic  and  attentive 
ear  into  which  they  may  discharge  their  feelings.  They  will 
derive  more  comfort  from  an  inarticulate  pastor  than  one 
who  is  voluble.  It  is  a  good  thing  for  the  physician  of  souls 
to  know  when  his  silence  will  be  more  healing  than  his 
words. 

Let  no  minister  suppose  that  he  must  pray  in  every 
home.  A  pastor  on  coming  to  a  new  church  let  it  be  known 
that  this  was  his  ideal,  and  later  discovered  that  few  people 
were  at  home  when  he  rang  the  bell.  A  wiser  pastor  an¬ 
nounced  that,  except  in  cases  of  sickness  or  trouble,  as  a 
rule  he  was  not  accustomed  to  suggest  prayer  when  he  vis¬ 
ited  members  of  the  church  in  their  homes.  Since  the  obli¬ 
gation  of  hospitality  was  on  them,  he  would  wait  for  an 
invitation.  His  own  hope,  however,  was  expressed  hu- 


*Pastor-Preacher,  p,  139. 


282 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


morously  by  the  comment  that  he  expected  them  to  be  well- 
mannered  in  this  regard.  Why  should  the  physician  of 
souls  have  but  one  prescription,  regardless  of  varying  tem¬ 
peraments  and  conditions  ?  Let  him  be  as  wise  as  the  healer 
of  the  body,  who  makes  a  careful  diagnosis  of  each  case  and 
adapts  the  treatment  to  the  disease. 

Some  ministers  utilize  the  mail  as  a  valuable  pastor’s  as¬ 
sistant.  The  personal  visits  of  the  lamented  Maltbie  Bab¬ 
cock  were  very  brief.  Frequently  he  made  as  many  as 
twenty-five  calls  in  an  afternoon.  But  he  had  the  imagina¬ 
tion  to  take  in  a  situation  at  a  glance,  and  on  his  return  to 
his  home  often  spent  several  hours  writing  notes  of  advice 
and  helpful  suggestion  to  those  whom  he  had  found  in  need 
of  pastoral  counsel.  Dr.  George  S.  Butters,  of  Boston, 
has  followed  a  similar  plan.  In  every  community  where  he 
has  lived  men  and  women  treasure  pastoral  epistles  which 
he  addressed  to  them  at  important  crises  in  their  lives,  and 
literally  hundreds  of  ministers  in  his  denomination,  whom 
he  first  met  as  theological  students,  preserve  with  great 
care  letters  which  he  has  written  across  a  long  period  of 
years.  This  use  of  the  pen  is  commended  especially  to  those 
who  find  it  difficult  to  express  themselves  in  speech  when 
they  feel  deeply. 

In  cities  and  larger  towns  it  is  all  but  impossible  to  see 
the  men  of  the  congregation  during  the  day  unless  one  calls 
on  them  at  their  places  of  business.  As  a  rule,  laymen 
rather  like  to  have  their  pastor  hunt  them  up  at  their  work, 
provided  he  does  not  come  too  often  or  stay  too  long. 
This  kind  of  a  call  usually  should  be  very  brief .  The  object 
should  be  merely  to  let  the  man  know  that  his  pastor  thinks 
of  him  and  wishes  him  well  in  all  that  concerns  him.  If 
one  plans  to  consult  laymen  on  church  business  during  the 
day,  an  appointment  should  be  made  in  advance  for  that 
purpose.  Men  usually  are  appreciative  of  any  effort  which 
the  pastor  may  make  to  visit  their  families  during  the  eve¬ 
ning.  They  have  time  then  for  social  and  religious  con¬ 
versation  which  is  denied  them  during  the  day. 


PASTORAL  VISITING 


283 


It  is  not  clear  that  a  minister  should  announce  publicly 
in  advance  that  he  will  call  on  the  families  who  live  in  a 
certain  district  during  the  following  week.  There  is  al¬ 
ways  a  possibility  that  he  may  be  compelled  to  change  his 
plan,  and  some  will  await  his  coming  in  vain.  Moreover, 
it  may  give  others  the  opportunity  to  avoid  a  call  which 
they  need  sorely.  It  seems  better,  on  the  whole,  to  take 
one’s  chances  on  finding  people  at  home,  and,  if  they  are 
absent,  to  call  again. 

It  should  be  unnecessary  to  say  that  no  minister  should 
make  pastoral  visiting  an  occasion  when  he  airs  his  per¬ 
sonal  grievances  or  works  up  sympathy  for  himself.  He 
goes  to  give  sympathy  and  not  to  get  it. 

Some  ministers  feel  that  their  wives  must  accompany 
them  in  their  pastoral  visiting.  When  it  is  convenient  and 
pleasurable  for  them  to  go,  let  them  do  so  by  all  means. 
But  that  they  are  obligated  to  attend  their  husbands  thus  is 
not  obvious.  The  minister’s  wife  may  have  a  unique  re¬ 
lation  to  the  church,  but  certainly  it  cannot  be  that  of  parish 
visitor.  Should  a  physician’s  wife  accompany  her  husband 
on  his  professional  calls?  Let  the  mistress  of  the  parson¬ 
age  have  her  own  calling  list  independently  of  her  husband. 
In  many  cases  the  same  names  will  appear  on  both  lists, 
but  the  lists  will  not  be  identical  throughout.  It  may  be 
urged  that  there  is  a  type  of  woman  in  almost  every  com¬ 
munity  who  is  especially  attracted  to  ministers,  and  against 
these  their  wives  must  protect  them.  In  reply  it  may  be 
said  that  almost  never  does  a  minister  whose  heart  is  pure 
and  whose  manner  is  above  reproach  get  into  trouble  of 
this  kind.  If  he  needs  other  protection  than  a  clean  mind 
affords,  let  him  take  as  escort  a  male  lay  official  of  the 
church  or  an  officer  of  the  law — or  stay  away. 

2.  Special  Calling.  This  includes  all  official  visiting 
which  is  required  by  something  exceptional  in  the  experi¬ 
ence  of  individual  members  of  the  church  or  its  constituency. 
It  is  additional  to  the  regular  visiting  which  should  go  on 
constantly,  and,  in  importance,  takes  precedence  over  it. 


284 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


That  is  to  say,  an  individual  in  especial  need  of  pastoral 
attention  has  a  preferred  claim  upon  the  pastor’s  time,  even 
the  hours  ordinarily  set  apart  for  study.  This  type  of  visit¬ 
ing  embraces  calls  upon  the  sick,  the  troubled,  strangers, 
and  all  who  are  upon  the  pastor’s  “personal  work  list.” 

a.  Upon  the  Sick.  A  pastor  on  going  to  a  new  parish 
should  begin  his  work  by  visiting  immediately  all  who  are 
ill,  and  he  should  let  the  congregation  know  that  he  desires 
to  be  informed  in  the  event  that  any  home  is  stricken  with 
sickness.  Nothing  but  ignorance  of  the  fact  can  excuse 
pastoral  neglect  of  any  who  suffer.  Those  who  are  “shut 
in”  as  the  result  of  chronic  invalidism  should  be  visited 
regularly,  both  by  the  pastor  and  any  parish  visitors  who 
may  assist  him.  Their  names  should  be  on  special  mailing 
lists  to  receive  all  printed  matter  issued  by  the  church,  and 
good  wishes  may  be  sent  frequently  over  the  telephone. 

In  the  case  of  acute  and  sudden  illness  the  pastor  should 
call  as  soon  as  he  learns  of  the  trouble,  and,  under  ordinary 
circumstances,  every  day  thereafter  as  long  as  the  illness 
continues  to  be  serious.  Some  of  these  subsequent  calls  may 
be  made  by  telephone,  particularly  if  the  sickness  is  not  of 
a  threatening  nature ;  but  the  personal  visit  will  be  more 
appreciated  because  it  requires  a  greater  expenditure  of 
time  and  energy. 

The  pastor  should  have  two  ends  in  view  in  visiting  the 
sick:  (i)composing  the  spirit  of  the  patient,  and  (2)  being 
a  good  friend  to  the  family.  In  the  first  instance  his  call 
may  have  genuine  therapeutic  value.  The  relation  of  the 
mind  to  disease  is  now  generally  admitted.  Depression  and 
irritability  are  inimical  to  health  and  retard  recovery  from 
sickness,  while  calmness,  buoyancy,  and  hopeful  expectancy 
assist  the  healing  process  greatly.  The  wise  minister  may 
do  much  to  create  a  state  of  mind  favorable  to  the  restora¬ 
tion  of  health. 

Nor  does  it  depreciate  the  value  of  this  service  to  recog¬ 
nize  that  it  is  accomplished  by  “suggestion.”  It  is  not 
necessary  to  approve  all  that  is  said  in  the  name  of  a  be- 


PASTORAL  VISITING 


285 


havioristic  psychology  to  use  its  method  intelligently,  as 
does  the  salesman  in  selling  merchandise.  The  wise  pastor 
knows  what  kind  of  a  response  he  wishes  to  secure  from 
the  patient,  and  will  plan  his  appeal  with  the  utmost  care. 
On  entering  the  home,  let  him  lay  aside  his  outer  garments 
— overcoat,  hat,  gloves,  and  rubbers.  His  manner  on  ap¬ 
proaching  the  bedside  of  the  patient  should  be  cheery, 
though  quiet;  and  sympathetic,  though  not  solemn.  He 
should  not  stay  long,  for  sick  people  tire  easily ;  nor  should 
he  talk  much  of  his  own  illnesses.  Let  him  listen,  however, 
if  the  patient  wishes  to  describe  his  sickness.  All  this  is 
of  absorbing  concern  and  relieves  the  mind.  Then  the  pa¬ 
tient’s  attention  may  be  directed  away  from  his  illness  to 
people,  things,  and  events  of  interest.  Leave  a  book  to  be 
read  when  reading  is  possible,  or  flowers,  either  in  your  own 
or  the  name  of  the  church.  If  you  know  a  good  story  that 
will  provoke  a  smile,  this  is  the  time  to  tell  it.  Let  all  that 
is  said  be  designed  to  stimulate  in  the  sufferer  a  hopeful, 
pleasant  frame  of  mind.  And,  if  possible,  one  should  turn 
the  conversation  so  as  to  suggest  naturally  the  healing 
values  of  prayer  and  faith,  for  nothing  is  more  potent  in 
composing  the  restless  mind.  Thus  the  spirit,  manner,  and 
words  of  the  pastor  will  be  designed  to  induce  an  attitude 
which  will  be  favorable  to  recovery. 

If  it  should  appear  that  the  patient  grows  steadily  worse 
and  death  is  imminent,  the  pastor  should  be  the  most  de¬ 
voted  friend  of  the  family.  This  would  mean,  at  the  least, 
keeping  in  constant  touch  with  them,  and,  at  the  most, 
putting  himself  entirely  at  their  disposal  for  any  service 
which  he  is  able  to  render.  One  distinguished  minister  in 
Methodism  well-nigh  took  up  his  abode  at  the  home  when 
death  was  expected  in  any  family  in  his  parish.  Happy  is 
that  family  whose  pastor  is  gifted  with  imagination  as  well 
as  sympathy  so  that  he  understands  without  being  told  how 
he  can  serve  best,  whether  by  speaking  or  keeping  silence, 
by  his  activities  or  by  his  prayers !  And  this  service  should 
continue  long  after  the  funeral,  if  it  comes  to  that.  A  cer- 


286 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


*  tain  bishop  in  the  church  is  generally  commended  for  the 
profundity  of  his  thought  and  the  simplicity  of  his  utter¬ 
ance,  but  the  sound  of  his  name  is  like  sweet  music  to  one 
elderly  woman  because  every  day  for  three  weeks  he  called 
at  her  home  after  a  member  of  her  family  had  died.  He 
seldom  stayed  more  than  five  minutes,  but  it  was  long 
enough  to  let  her  know  that  she  and  her  loneliness  were 
much  in  his  mind  those  dreary  days. 

The  conduct  of  the  pastor  in  the  face  of  contagious  dis¬ 
ease  will  be  regulated  largely  by  the  laws  of  public  health. 
He  has  no  more  right  to  consider  personal  danger  than  a 
physician ;  and  his  family  is  obligated  to  take  the  same 
risks  should  occasion  arise,  which  are  run  by  the  doc¬ 
tor’s  wife  and  children.  But  let  him  be  guilty  of  no  fool¬ 
hardiness.  If  he  must  expose  himself  to  contagion  in  the 
discharge  of  his  pastoral  duties,  let  him  consult  a  physician 
concerning  protective  measures  which  may  be  taken,  both 
for  his  own  and  his  family’s  sake.  He  should  never  be 
guilty  of  disregarding  quarantines  without  the  consent  of 
health  officials.  The  telephone  and  mails,  of  course,  may 
be  used  to  communicate  with  those  who  are  isolated. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  visiting  the  sick  is  always  attended 
by  more  or  less  hazard,  and  the  careless  pastor  may  easily 
become  a  “carrier”  of  disease.  He  will  almost  certainly 
shake  hands  with  the  patient,  and  may  handle  articles  which 
the  latter  has  touched.  Consider  how  perilous  that  is  in  a 
case  of  tuberculosis.  The  thoughtful  pastor,  then,  should 
always  be  careful  to  cleanse  his  hands  thoroughly  after  a 
visit  to  the  sick-room. 

The  relation  of  the  pastor  to  the  physician  should  be  one 
of  cordial  cooperation.  Most  physicians  recognize  the 
therapeutic  value  of  the  pastor’s  call  and  welcome  it,  ex¬ 
cept  where  a  pastor  has  proven  himself  to  be  a  wretched 
bungler  who  irritates  more  than  he  soothes  by  his  coming. 
Generally,  the  minister  will  be  admitted  to  sick-rooms,  hos¬ 
pitals,  and  operating  rooms  when  all  others  are  excluded, 
and  he  may  call  at  other  than  the  regular  hours  for  visiting. 


PASTORAL  VISITING 


287 


But  should  the  physician  leave  orders  that  no  one  may  see 
the  patient,  or  if  the  nurse  should  warn,  “Only  a  minute!” 
he  must  have  the  utmost  respect  for  their  commands.  They 
are  in  charge  of  the  case.  Let  him  turn  his  attentions  to 
the  family,  who  need  him  in  such  an  hour  more  than  the 
patient. 

b.  Upon  Strangers.  After  the  sick,  strangers  have  the 
next  best  right  to  the  pastor's  attention.  It  is  quite  possible 
that  the  minister  may  not  understand  how  lonely  new  peo¬ 
ple  can  be  in  a  community.  He  and  his  family  receive  so 
much  attention  when  they  come  that  he  may  mistakenly 
assume  that  others  are  as  cordially  received.  It  is  seldom 
so.  Often  strangers  wait  in  vain  for  signs  of  friendly  in¬ 
terest  in  their  neighbors.  They  may  even  attend  church 
without  anyone  inquiring  for  their  names  or  bidding  them 
welcome.  For  an  occasional  Christian  (?)  takes  the  posi¬ 
tion  that  he  does  not  care  to  make  any  new  friends.  As 
soon  as  he  learns  of  their  presence  the  minister  should 
call  in  the  name  of  the  church,  provided,  of  course,  that 
they  belong  to  his  constituency.  (If  they  are  members  of 
another  denomination,  he  should  give  their  names  to  the 
pastor  of  that  religious  body.)  And  he  should  urge  the 
members  of  his  own  church  who  live  near  by  to  call  soon. 
Conscientious  pastors  use  many  devices  to  inform  them¬ 
selves  concerning  strangers.  Blank  cards  are  kept  in  the 
pews  for  reporting  their  names.  The  members  of  the  church 
are  asked  to  act  as  “sentinels”  who  notify  him  when  he 
should  call  on  new  people  in  their  block.  Sunday-school 
teachers  are  trained  to  report  the  names  of  new  pupils  so 
that  the  minister  may  call  on  the  parents.  Ushers  in  the 
public  service  note  the  unfamiliar  faces  and  quietly  secure 
their  names  and  addresses,  introducing  them  when  possible 
to  the  pastor.  He,  in  turn,  secures  their  “church  letters,” 
and  builds  them  as  rapidly  as  possible  into  the  life  and  or¬ 
ganizations  of  the  new  church. 

c.  The  Troubled.  This  group  would  be,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  identical  with  the  entire  membership  of  the  church. 


288 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


for  trouble  in  some  form  comes  to  all.  Here  the  term  is 
restricted,  however,  to  those  who  are  miserable  for  other 
reasons  than  physical  illness.  It  includes  the  wearied,  the 
worried,  the  anxious,  the  depressed,  the  perplexed,  the  dis¬ 
couraged,  the  sinful.  The  amount  of  mental  and  emotional 
suffering  in  the  world  cannot  be  exaggerated.  The  number 
of  persons  who  destroy  themselves  annually  because  life 
has  become  intolerable ;  the  multitudes  who  follow  after 
Christian  Science  and  other  cults  which  promise  peace  of 
mind ;  the  tens  of  thousands  who  take  “the  rest  cure”  in 
sanitariums ;  the  millions  who  seek  diversion  and  self- 
forgetfulness  in  drugs,  intoxicants,  and  extravagant  amuse¬ 
ments — these  all  bear  witness  to  the  far-reaching  sway  of 
unhappiness.  The  causes  are  numerous,  sometimes  found 
in  external  circumstances,  and  sometimes  in  psychological 
conditions.  In  part,  they  are  due  to  the  monotony  of  mod¬ 
ern  industry ;  in  other  part,  to  defective  education  in  the 
home,  the  school,  and  the  church;  and,  in  yet  other  part, 
to  the  rapid  pace  of  modern  life,  which  gives  very  few  an 
opportunity  to  compose  themselves.  Some  of  this  misery 
is  psychopathic,  a  matter  for  experts  highly  trained  in  the 
methods  of  psychoanalysis.  Most  of  it  may  be  relieved, 
however,  by  the  “healing  personality”  of  a  sympathetic  pas¬ 
tor  who  has  the  imagination  to  understand  in  how  many 
ways  the  spirit  of  man  may  be  burdened ;  and  the  patience 
to  listen  while  the  heart  pours  out  that  which  has  been  too 
long  repressed ;  and  the  wisdom  to  make  helpful  suggestion 
concerning  the  attainment  of  peace  and  self-control. 

The  nature  of  these  suggestions  will  vary  greatly,  for 
different  problems  require  different  solutions.  When  pov¬ 
erty  is  the  real  source  of  trouble  the  pastor  must  do  all  in 
his  power  to  find  employment,  or,  if  that  is  impossible,  to 
provide  for  permanent  relief,  enlisting  the  interest  of  all 
persons  and  institutions  directly  concerned.  When  the  case 
is  one  of  domestic  unhappiness  in  which  husband  and  wife 
are  alienated,  appeal,  exhortation,  rebuke  may  all  be  in 
order,  according  as  the  facts  show  that  one  or  both  are 


PASTORAL  VISITING 


289 


culpable.  No  more  difficult  problem  ever  comes  to  the  pas¬ 
tor  than  this,  and,  as  a  rule,  he  will  do  well  to  take  with 
him  a  wise  and  patient  layman  for  advice  and  counsel.  If 
the  troubled  be  young  people  who  have  blundered  through 
ignorance  or  lack  of  self-mastery,  the  case  is  one  for  sym¬ 
pathetic  reproof  and  constant  watchfulness  in  the  future. 
And  if  the  case  be  one  of  moral  obliquity  on  the  part  of 
a  mature  person  in  the  church,  the  pastor  may  find  it  neces¬ 
sary  to  speak  as  the  voice  of  conscience,  both  of  the  sinner 
and  the  church.  But  we  must  say  again  that  no  set  of  rules 
can  be  laid  down  for  handling  any  pastoral  problem.  Only 
common  sense,  imagination,  and  sympathy  can  teach  us 
what  to  say  or  do. 

The  spiritual  welfare  of  the  church  membership  may  be 
increased  by  the  pastor  who  emphasizes,  both  in  the  pulpit 
and  his  calling,  the  value  of  daily  prayer  and  meditation. 
The  discipline  of  Christian  Science  requires  that  a  con¬ 
siderable  portion  of  time  each  day  shall  be  devoted  to  the 
deliberate  culture  of  the  sense  of  well-being  by  uncritical 
reflection  upon  the  affirmations  of  “Science  and  Health.” 
This  practice  more  than  anything  else  accomplishes  the  al¬ 
leged  “cures”  of  this  body.  But  anyone  who  will  spend  at 
least  twenty  minutes  each  day  in  religious  meditation,  clos¬ 
ing  the  mind  to  that  which  disturbs  and  annoys,  and  filling 
it  with  that  which  is  peaceful  and  holy  by  reading  worthy 
devotional  literature  and  engaging  in  prayer,  will  find  his 
mental,  moral,  and  physical  health  improving.  An  old  monk 
long  ago  called  this  “practicing  the  Presence  of  God.”  And 
there  is  no  way  of  truly  reviving  the  church  except  by  cul¬ 
tivating  this  old  habit. 

d.  The  Unevangelized.  A  final  group  which  has  special 
claims  upon  the  pastor’s  time  consists  of  those  who  are  un¬ 
evangelized.  The  term  is  a  broad  one,  embracing  not  merely 
the  unchurched,  but  the  unconverted,  and  all  who  have 
never  ventured  into  the  deep  places  of  Christian  experience, 
whether  members  of  the  church  or  not.  Their  names  will 
compose  the  pastor’s  “Personal  Work  List,”  and  none  but 


290 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


himself  and  God  will  see  it.  These  must  be  cultivated  per¬ 
sistently  and  lovingly,  though  with  tact  and  common  sense. 
There  should  be  no  nagging,  yet  there  must  be  constant 
pursuit  which  never  abandons  the  holy  chase.  Let  the  pas¬ 
tor  angle  for  these  souls  as  the  fisherman  angles  for  the 
wary  trout.  He  should  be  tactful,  yet  at  times  be  ready  to 
risk  a  blunder  by  bold  adventuring.  This  work  must  go  on 
month  after  month,  intensified,  perhaps,  during  special 
meetings,  but  not  abandoned  when  meetings  are  done. 

Books  Recommended  for  Further  Study 

W.  A.  Quayle,  The  Pastor-Preacher. 

Charles  E.  Jefferson,  The  Minister  as  Shepherd. 

Washington  Gladden,  The  Christian  Pastor. 

F.  J.  McConnell,  The  Preacher  and  the  People. 

John  T.  Stone,  In  the  Footsteps  of  a  Pastor. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 


MINOR  MINISTERIAL  ETHICS 

There  is  no  professional  worker  whose  service  is  af¬ 
fected  more  by  an  unethical  quality  in  his  living  and  conduct 
than  that  of  the  minister.  Yet  it  might  be  possible,  as 
Doctor  Batten  suggests,1  to  say  that  the  ministry  as  a  body 
has  no  code  of  professional  ethics.  This  is  true,  however, 
only  when  we  mean  by  a  professional  code  one  that  has 
been  formally  elaborated  and  adopted  by  a  group  of  workers 
who  were  empowered  to  speak  for  a  whole  profession. 
Examples  of  such  codes  are  found  in  the  canons  of  ethics 
for  lawyers,  adopted  by  the  American  Bar  Association,  and 
in  a  code  of  medical  ethics  adopted  by  the  American  Medical 
Association. 

Several  reasons  may  be  urged  for  the  lack  of  such  a 
formal  code  for  religious  workers.  The  motive  for  entering 
the  ministry  differs  radically  from  that  of  any  other  pro¬ 
fession,  as  has  been  suggested  in  a  previous  chapter.  It 
might  be  assumed  that  men  acting  from  such  a  motive 
would  not  need  the  restraints  of  a  formal  ethical  code. 
Again,  practically  all  ministers  belong  to  particular  denom¬ 
inations.  The  differences  separating  these  religious  bodies 
are  very  marked.  Each  has  its  own  standards  for  its  own 
ministers,  but  it  would  be  difficult  to  secure  the  cooperation 
of  all  in  formulating  a  code  which  should  be  binding  upon 
all.  Nevertheless,  the  profession  is  tested  by  the  highest 
standards.  There  are  those  who  believe  that  the  unwritten 
Constitution  of  England  is  of  greater  practical  utility  than 
the  written  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  Similarly, 
the  unofficial  code  of  ethics  for  the  ministry  is  more  exact- 

1See  an  article,  “The  Ethics  of  the  Ministry,”  in  Annals  of  the 
American  Academy  of  Political  Science,  May,  1922,  p.  147. 

291 


292 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


ing  than  the  carefully  formulated  rules  which  govern  work¬ 
ers  in  other  professions.  A  minister  will  be  discredited  and 
unfrocked  for  private  conduct  which  would  not  affect  at 
all  the  professional  standing  of  a  lawyer  or  a  physician. 
This  is  due  chiefly  to  the  fact  that  he  stands  before  the  com¬ 
munity  as  a  teacher  of  New  Testament  ethics,  and  by  this 
Christian  standard,  which  he  interprets,  the  community  in¬ 
evitably  will  judge  him. 

Besides  the  restraints  imposed  upon  his  private  and  pro¬ 
fessional  life  by  the  ethics  of  the  New  Testament,  the  min¬ 
ister  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  is  bound  by  a 
carefully  written  code  set  forth  in  the  Discipline  of  the 
church.2  It  is  called  “the  rules  for  a  preacher’s  conduct.” 
These  were  written  first  by  John  Wesley  for  the  guidance  of 
his  English  preachers.  On  the  organization  of  the  church 
in  America,  they  were  adopted  by  the  ministers  in  the  new 
country,  and  have  been  confirmed  by  each  succeeding  Gen¬ 
eral  Conference.  Every  minister  who  applies  for  admission 
into  an  Annual  Conference  is  asked,  “Have  you  considered 
the  rules  for  a  preacher,  especially  those  relating  to  dili¬ 
gence,  to  punctuality,  and  to  doing  the  work  to  which  you 
were  assigned,  and  will  you  keep  them  for  conscience’ 
sake?”  Thus  each  candidate  for  our  ministry  admits  this 
code  as  binding,  in  spirit,  upon  himself. 

Formal  professional  codes  aim  to  safeguard  the  en¬ 
trance  to  the  profession,  to  maintain  the  dignity  and 
standing  of  the  profession,  and  to  assert  with  great 
care  the  obligation  of  all  professional  workers  to  be 
bound  by  the  motive  of  service.  The  principles  of 
medical  ethics,  as  set  forth  by  the  American  Med¬ 
ical  Association,  are  arranged  in  three  chapters,  namely: 
(1)  The  Duties  of  Physicians  to  Their  Patients,  (2)  The 
Duties  of  Physicians  to  Each  Other  and  the  Profession  at 
Large,  (3)  The  Duties  of  the  Profession  to  the  Public. 
The  concluding  paragraph  says,  “While  the  foregoing  state- 


* Discipline ,  1920,  HH  1 17-130. 


MINOR  MINISTERIAL  ETHICS 


293 


ments  express  in  a  general  way  the  duty  of  the  physician, 
.  .  .  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  they  cover  the  whole  field 
of  medical  ethics,  or  that  the  physician  is  not  under  many 
duties  and  obligations  besides  these  herein  set  forth.”  A 
similar  statement  might  be  made  in  concluding  the  rules  for 
a  preacher’s  conduct.  These  rules  take  account  chiefly  of 
matters  of  major  importance.  But  many  ministers  become 
wholly  unacceptable,  not  through  the  violation  of  these 
greater  rules  but  through  disregard  of  minor  matters,  which, 
though  trivial  by  comparison,  are  of  great  consequence  in 
the  community’s  estimate  of  their  efficiency.  In  this  chap¬ 
ter  we  shall  deal  with  these  little  things,  many  of  which  are 
not  mentioned  at  all  in  the  chapter  in  the  Discipline  on 
‘‘Qualifications  and  Work  of  the  Ministry,”  and  one  might 
even  search  the  New  Testament  in  vain  for  a  statement  con¬ 
cerning  some  of  them.  Saint  Paul  says,  “I  put  no  obstacle 
in  the  path  of  any  so  that  my  ministry  may  not  be  discred¬ 
ited.”3  Every  minister  should  be  equally  eager  to  remove 
from  his  life  and  conduct  everything,  however  trifling, 
which  in  any  way  reflects  upon  his  office.  It  is  impossible 
to  make  a  complete  catalogue  of  these  faults.  They  fall 
into  a  few  great  groups  which  are  not  mutually  exclusive. 
Such  practical  classifications  as  are  attempted  here  include 
only  the  more  common  failings.  We  must  repeat  that  which 
has  been  affirmed  so  often  in  these  pages,  that  there  is  no 
safe  guide  in  these  matters  except  what  is  afforded  by  a 
discriminating  taste  and  a  sensitive  conscience. 

1.  Personal  Hygiene,  a.  It  is  so  regrettable  as  to  be 
painful  that  some  ministers  are  untidy  to  an  intolerable 
degree.  The  mediaeval  association  between  piety  and  filth 
is  no  longer  admitted.  No  degree  of  sanctity,  and  no  depth 
of  ministerial  poverty  will  ever  excuse  soiled  linen,  grimy 
hands,  black  finger  nails,  unbrushed  teeth,  dirty  shoes,  vests 
spotted  with  grease,  dandruff-covered  coat  collars,  in  the 
minister  himself.  Nor  will  they  excuse  untidy  housekeeping 


*2  Cor.  6.  3,  Moffatt’s  translation. 


294 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


or  unkempt  children  in  his  home.  Each  of  these  things  be¬ 
trays  an  indifference  to  personal  cleanliness  which  every¬ 
where  shocks  the  sensibilities  of  people  of  ordinary  refine¬ 
ment.  How  can  they  respect  the  minister’s  judgment  in 
spiritual  things  when  they  must  apologize  for  him  in  such 
elementary  matters  as  these?  “I  am  ashamed  to  introduce 
him  to  my  business  associates  as  my  minister,”  exclaimed 
a  vexed  layman  whose  badly  groomed  pastor  was  a  constant 
source  of  humiliation. 

b.  But  some  who  are  meticulous  in  caring  for  the  outside 
of  the  body  are  grossly  indifferent  to  the  inside,  with  the 
result  that  spiritual  efficiency  becomes  seriously  impaired 
through  low  physical  vitality.  The  men  who  follow  se¬ 
dentary  occupations  must  put  their  bodies  under  and  provide 
sparingly  for  physical  appetites.  Ministers  are  proverbially 
poor,  but  that  does  not  keep  some  of  them  from  eating  too 
much.  Nor  is  it  altogether  a  question  of  quantity,  but  also 
one  of  kinds  of  food.  They  consume  too  much  meat  and 
starch,  and  too  little  fruit  and  green  vegetables.  The  or¬ 
gans  of  digestion  and  elimination  are  overloaded.  Consti¬ 
pation,  kidney  trouble,  indigestion,  and  foul  breath  inevita¬ 
bly  result.  John  Wesley’s  demand  that  his  preachers  should 
fast  regularly  was  justifiable  on  physiological  as  well  as  re¬ 
ligious  grounds.  “Do  you  use  only  that  kind  and  degree  of 
food  which  is  best  both  for  body  and  soul?  Do  you  eat  no 
more  at  each  meal  than  is  necessary?  Are  you  not  heavy 
or  drowsy  after  dinner?”4  An  overfed  body  is  not  an  ef¬ 
fective  instrument  for  the  soul. 

c.  Posture  has  much  to  do  with  physical  efficiency. 
Physicians  tell  us  that  man  has  limb  for  limb,  bone  for  bone, 
and  muscle  for  muscle  with  other  mammals.  His  upright 
position  puts  an  unaccustomed  strain  on  the  nervous  sys¬ 
tem.  The  weight,  which  in  other  animals  is  supported  by 
the  abdominal  muscles,  settles  into  the  pelvis  and  puts  pres¬ 
sure  on  new  nerve  centers.  This  strain  quickly  produces  a 


4 Discipline ,  1920,  H  121  f. 


MINOR  MINISTERIAL  ETHICS 


295 


sense  of  fatigue.  The  only  way  to  relieve  it  is  to  maintain 
a  good  posture — head  erect,  shoulders  thrown  back,  and 
abdomen  supported  by  muscular  effort.  Yet  how  infre¬ 
quently  does  one  find  a  minister  who  carries  himself  prop¬ 
erly  !  Generally  he  stands  lop-sidedly  on  one  foot,  chest 
and  shoulders  thrown  forward,  and  abdominal  muscles  com¬ 
pletely  relaxed.  He  thinks  he  stands  this  way  because  he 
is  tired.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  truth  probably  is  that  he 
is  tired  because  he  stands  this  way. 

d.  Exercise  is  important  too,  though  not  in  the  same 
sense  as  for  the  athlete.  The  minister  does  not  need  hard 
muscles.  He  requires  only  that  degree  of  physical  activity 
which  will  keep  every  bodily  organ  in  good  condition.  Set¬ 
ting-up  exercises  morning  and  night,  and  additional  exer¬ 
cise  which  will  be  equivalent  to  a  five-mile  walk  each  day, 
will  generally  suffice. 

2.  Good  Manners.  Of  all  men  in  the  world,  the  minister 
should  be  most  mannerly ;  yet  good  manners  are  not  always 
in  evidence  among  religious  leaders.  We  are  not  thinking 
now  of  codes  of  etiquette  which  prescribe  in  detail  the  action 
appropriate  to  ceremonial  occasions.  “The  words  etiquette 
and  ticket  have  the  same  origin.  Formerly,  the  rules  and 
ceremonies  to  be  observed  at  court  were  printed  on  a  ticket, 
and  given  to  every  person  presented  at  court.”  So  E.  J. 
Hardy  comments  in  How  to  Be  Happy  Though  Civil? 
Rules  of  this  kind  change,  like  fashions,  with  every  wind. 
We  have  in  mind,  rather,  that  gentle  bearing  and  considera¬ 
tion  for  others  which  is  indispensable  to  happy  relations 
among  men.  Edmund  Burke  says :  “Manners  are  of  more 
importance  than  laws.  Upon  them,  in  great  measure,  the 
laws  depend.  The  law  touches  here  and  there,  now  and 
then.  Manners  are  what  vex  or  soothe,  corrupt  or  purify, 
exalt  or  debase,  barbarize  or  refine  us,  by  a  constant,  steady, 
uniform,  insensible  operation,  like  the  air  we  breathe  in. 
They  give  their  whole  form  and  color  to  our  lives.  Accord- 


5P.  13. 


296 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


in g  to  their  quality,  they  aid  morals,  they  supply  them,  or 
they  totally  destroy  them.”6 

In  spite,  however,  of  the  obligation  which  his  religion  im¬ 
poses  upon  him  to  be  civil,  and  its  usefulness  in  allaying 
the  frictions  incident  to  his  work,  the  rude  and  ill-man¬ 
nered  minister  is  conspicuous  and  discredits  the  whole  pro¬ 
fession.  This  is  apparent  in  his  ostentatious  disregard  of 
proprieties  on  the  supposition  that  he  is  proving  himself 
democratic;  in  conversing  with  guests  in  the  pulpit  while 
others  are  contributing  to  public  worship ;  in  looking  bored 
while  others  are  speaking;  in  taking  more  than  his  share 
of  time  on  a  program  when  others  besides  himself  are  to 
speak;  in  self-assertively  doing  all  the  talking  at  a  dinner 
party  or  other  social  occasion ;  in  affecting  eccentricities  of 
dress  and  manner;  in  petty  concern  for  his  own  prestige, 
anxious  that  proper  deference  shall  be  paid  him  on  every 
occasion;  in  parading  the  affairs  of  his  own  household  and 
the  cleverness  of  his  own  children  before  the  congregation ; 
in  improper  bodily  contacts  with  members  of  the  congrega¬ 
tion,  jocosely  slapping  men  on  the  back  and  sentimentally 
dealing  with  women  or  holding  their  hands  in  both  his  own 
as  though  he  were  their  father  or  older  brother ;  in  careless¬ 
ness  about  engagements ;  in  slangy  and  coarse  speech ;  in 
discourteous  contradiction  of  the  statements  of  others ;  in 
fidgeting  and  fussing;  in  planning  to  get  before  the  public 
and  see  his  name  in  print ;  in  picking  his  teeth,  chewing 
toothpicks,  trimming  his  finger  nails,  and  expectorating  in 
public  places ;  in  assuming  generally  that  the  obligation  to 
be  a  Christian  gentleman  rests  upon  every  person  in  the 
world  but  himself.  Of  course  no  one  minister  was  ever 
quite  guilty  of  all  these  faults,  but  everyone  knows  some 
minister  who  is  guilty  of  one  or  more  of  them.  Bad  man¬ 
ners  are  regrettable  for  any  minister.  They  are  inexcusable 
for  Methodist  ministers.  Professor  Hoppin,  of  Yale  Uni¬ 
versity,  said,  “J°hn  Wesley,  plain  and  severe  as  we  picture 


'Quoted  by  E.  J.  Hardy,  op.  cit.,  p.  12. 


MINOR  MINISTERIAL  ETHICS 


297 


him,  insisted  upon  the  highest  style  of  manners  in  the  min¬ 
isterial  office,  all  the  courtesy  of  the  gentleman  joined  with 
the  correctness  of  the  scholar.”7 

The  causes  of  bad  manners  are  numerous.  Defective 
early  training  is  surely  one.  This  usually  applies,  however, 
only  to  those  conventions  which  are  indispensable  to  social 
intercourse.  Wherever  there  are  contacts  with  our  fellow- 
men,  to  proceed  according  to  well-recognized  customs  is  to 
reduce  friction.  To  disregard  them  will  only  create  con¬ 
fusion  and  misunderstanding  as  certainly  as  failure  to  heed 
the  signal  of  a  traffic  officer.  For  example,  if  one  is  a  guest 
in  a  private  home  during  Annual  Conference,  he  is  ex¬ 
pected  to  act  as  if  he  understood  perfectly  that  a  home  is 
not  a  hotel.  He  will  disturb  the  routine  of  the  family  as 
little  as  possible  and  make  his  convenience  suit  that  of  the 
family  if  within  his  power.  And  on  returning  to  his  own 
home,  he  will  send  a  note  of  appreciation  to  his  hosts  for 
their  gracious  hospitality.  To  conduct  oneself  otherwise 
under  circumstances  such  as  these  will  open  the  way  to 
censure.  But  defective  conduct  which  grows  out  of  ig¬ 
norance  of  social  conventions  is  not  especially  serious  when 
one  honestly  intends  to  be  thoughtful,  modest,  and  cour¬ 
teous.  He  may  inform  himself  concerning  polite  usages 
by  studying  a  good  volume  on  manners. 

The  situation  is  much  more  complicated  when  the  cause 
is  a  wrong  inner  attitude  of  heart  and  mind.  Vanity  is  one 
of  these.  This  is  responsible  for  the  self-conscious  asser¬ 
tion  of  oneself  on  small  occasions — telling  what  others  have 
said  about  one’s  sermons,  parading  one’s  hobbies  and  private 
affairs  as  if  they  must  be  of  universal  interest.  “The  vain 
man  can  scarcely  be  well-mannered ;  he  is  so  absorbed  in  the 
contemplation  of  his  own  perfections  that  he  cannot  think 
of  other  people  and  study  their  feelings.”8  Irritability  is 
another  fruitful  source  of  incivility,  whether  it  is  caused  by 
weariness,  illness,  or  constitutional  churlishness.  The  irri- 


7 Pastoral  Theology,  p.  196. 

8E.  J.  Hardy,  op.  cit.,  p.  116, 


298 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


tated  person  is  always  chiefly  concerned  with  himself,  full 
of  fault-finding,  and  lacking  in  appreciation  of  others. 

Probably  every  other  source  of  bad  manners,  however,  is 
gathered  up  under  this — disregard  for  other  persons.  Bad 
pulpit  manners  are  due  to  lack  of  respect  for  God  and  the 
congregation.  All  vulgar  conduct — loudness,  coarseness, 
silliness,  boorishness,  obtrusiveness  of  every  sort — is  due 
to  lack  of  regard  for  the  rights  and  feelings  and  presence  of 
others.  Reverence  for  others  impels  to  love  and  sympathy, 
which  prompts  us  to  be  courteous.  Disregard  for  others 
impels  us  to  throw  away  all  self-restraint  and  let  ourselves 
go  according  to  the  feeling  of  the  moment. 

The  cure  for  bad  manners  is,  of  course,  suggested  by  their 
several  causes.  If  they  are  due  to  faulty  education,  then 
one  should  study  some  good  guide  to  social  conduct,  watch 
the  way  in  which  others  deport  themselves,  and  eliminate 
that  in  one’s  own  conduct  which  contrasts  unpleasantly  with 
their  action.  If  vanity  be  the  cause,  then  one  must  stop 
thinking  of  himself.  If  irritability,  then  one  must  learn  to 
master  his  moods.  If  they  are  due  to  lack  of  respect  for 
others,  then  one  must  learn  to  reverence  personality  wher¬ 
ever  it  is  found,  whether  in  God  or  a  congregation,  in  adults 
or  children.  One  who  reverences  all  men  because  they  are 
men  will  never  quite  abandon  himself  to  say  or  do  just 
what  he  likes.  He  will  be  concerned  less  with  making  him¬ 
self  comfortable  and  more  with  putting  others  at  their  ease. 
“To  listen  when  we  are  bored,  to  talk  when  we  are  listless, 
to  stand  when  we  are  tired,  to  praise  when  we  are  indiffer¬ 
ent,  to  accept  the  companionship  of  a  stupid  acquaintance 
when  we  might,  at  the  expense  of  politeness,  escape  to  a 
clever  friend,  to  endure  with  smiling  composure  the  near 
presence  of  people  who  are  distasteful  to  us — these  things, 
and  many  like  them,  brace  the  sinews  of  our  souls.  They 
set  a  fine  and  delicate  standard  for  common  intercourse. 
They  discipline  us  for  the  good  of  the  community.”9 

"Agnes  Repplier,  Americans  and  Others,  p.  26.  Reprinted  by  per¬ 
mission  of  Houghton  Mifflin  Company. 


MINOR  MINISTERIAL  ETHICS 


299 


3.  Unreality.  Among  the  influences  which  “unmake” 
a  preacher,  President  (emeritus)  Tucker,  of  Dartmouth, 
gives  the  primacy  to  unreality.  This  he  defines  as  “the  fail¬ 
ure  to  get  right  correspondence  between  the  expression  and 
the  comprehension  of  truth.”10  One  less  gifted  with  phil¬ 
osophic  insight,  and  less  skillful  in  saying  harsh  things 
sweetly,  might  define  it  simply  as  affectation,  artificiality,  in¬ 
sincerity,  or  plain  “bluff.” 

a.  This  peril  threatens  the  intellectual  life  of  many 
ministers  who  pretend  a  knowledge  which  they  do  not  pos¬ 
sess,  and  affect  an  assurance  which  their  attainments  do  not 
warrant.  They  are  given  to  dogmatic  utterance  without 
offering  solid  reasons  for  their  statements,  and  exalt  their 
own  unsupported  opinions  as  the  standards  by  which  all 
in  the  community  must  stand  or  fall.  At  the  best  this  in¬ 
tellectual  unreality  consists  in  affirming  the  ancient  beliefs 
in  ancient  phraseology  without  verifying  them  in  one’s 
own  personal  experience ;  and  at  the  worst  it  consists  in 
grossly  putting  forth  as  one’s  own  the  thoughts  and  ex¬ 
periences  of  others.  Conceivably  it  might  consist  in  preach¬ 
ing  less  than  one  believes  rather  than  more — in  permitting 
the  congregation  to  think  that  one  accepts  old  statements 
of  belief  which,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  he  secretly  rejects. 

h.  Unreality  breaks  out  too  at  the  point  of  the  emotional 
life,  manifesting  itself  in  the  pulpit  in  a  “ministerial  tone,” 
in  “rhetorical  courage,”  in  gestures  and  voice  artificially 
solemn  or  strenuous,  in  a  religious  fervor  which  one  does 
not  feel.  In  social  contacts  it  expresses  itself  in  gushing, 
and  unctuous  compliments  on  meeting  people,  in  pretending 
to  know  or  remember  everyone,  in  excessive  and  flattering 
graciousness  which  does  not  represent  one’s  true  feeling. 
The  necessity  that  is  on  the  minister  to  make  himself  agree¬ 
able  to  all  for  the  sake  of  their  cooperation  in  his  work 
strongly  tempts  him  to  become  affected. 

c.  Moreover,  unreality  is  reflected  in  the  petty  devices 


10The  Making  and  Unmaking  of  the  Preacher,  p.  62. 


300 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


sometimes  employed  to  give  an  appearance  of  success  in 
church  work  which  would  not  otherwise  be  suspected.  For 
example,  informing  the  church  press  each  time  the  salary 
is  increased,  or  an  invitation  is  received  to  speak  on  some 
special  occasion;  special  diligence  in  visiting  just  previous 
to  the  fourth  Quarterly  Conference  in  order  to  make  a 
good  report,  even  counting  casual  conversations  on  the 
street  or  at  the  post  office  as  pastoral  calls;  Annual  Con¬ 
ference  reports  of  church  and  Sunday-school  membership 
based  on  generous  estimates  rather  than  careful  tabulations; 
reporting  as  “converted”  all  who  bow  at  the  altars  of  the 
church  for  any  reason  during  special  meetings;  reporting 
large  numbers  received  into  church  membership  without 
explaining  that  a  majority  came  by  transfer,  or  that  many 
were  counted  twice — once  as  probationers,  and  again  when 
received  into  full  membership.  In  these  and  countless  other 
ways  ministers  may  degrade  themselves  to  make  a  “good 
showing.”  The  preacher  may  be  excused  for  lack  of  elo¬ 
quence  and  brilliancy,  but  never  for  lack  of  candor  and 
simple  honesty. 

4.  Financial  Matters.  Delinquency  in  matters  of 
finance  hinders  the  effectiveness  of  some  ministers. 

a.  This  more  commonly  takes  the  form  of  debt,  which 
trails  them  from  charge  to  charge.  It  is  easy  to  buy  “on  ac¬ 
count,”  and  the  salary  is  generally  meager.  So  the  creditor 
may  seem  to  be  a  real  friend.  But  to  pay  is  difficult,  some¬ 
times  impossible,  and  good  men  have  been  impelled  by  sheer 
desperation  to  undertake  disastrous  ventures  in  speculation 
or  “borrow”  church  funds  in  the  hope  of  escaping  from 
debt.  Or  it  may  be  that  they  have  become  callously  indif¬ 
ferent  to  their  obligations,  which  is  worse.  The  minister 
should  borrow  money  sparingly;  he  should  not  run  current 
bills  in  excess  of  his  monthly  salary;  and  when  obligations 
fall  due  he  should  make  no  delay  in  meeting  them.  If  he 
cannot  pay  when  he  promised,  let  him  say  so  frankly  and 
arrange  for  an  extension  of  time,  but  never  disregard  the 
obligation. 


MINOR  MINISTERIAL  ETHICS 


301 


b.  Church  Funds.  The  minister  may  become  seriously 
involved  through  the  careless  handling  of  church  funds.  A 
few  simple  rules  will  save  him  trouble  and  possibly  shame. 
(1)  Never  accept  responsibility  for  administering  funds 
which  properly  should  be  deposited  with  one  of  the  church 
treasurers.  (2)  In  case  it  seems  imperatively  necessary  to 
become  the  custodian  of  church  moneys,  never  deposit  or 
in  any  way  mix  them  with  personal  funds.  Open  separate 
accounts  for  them  at  the  bank.  And  never  borrow  from 
them  for  private  use.  (3)  Keep  a  careful  and  clear  record 
of  all  receipts  and  expenditures  of  such  moneys.  (4)  In¬ 
sist  that  at  regular  and  frequent  intervals,  all  accounts  shall 
be  carefully  audited  by  competent  persons. 

c.  Supplementing  the  Salary.  Frequently  an  insufficient 
salary,  or  sometimes  plain  commercial-mindedness,  impels 
ministers  to  resort  to  various  methods  of  increasing  their 
income  while  continuing  in  the  pastorate.  Farming;  invest¬ 
ments  in  enterprises  which  promise  large  returns  in  interest 
or  dividends ;  selling  life  insurance ;  breeding  poultry,  rab¬ 
bits,  or  dogs  for  the  market ;  buying  and  selling  stocks,  land, 
timber,  or  fruit  orchards ;  taking  agencies,  or  permitting 
their  children  to  do  so,  to  sell  books,  pictures,  etc.,  to  the 
community  in  which  they  live — these,  together  with  writing 
and  lecturing,  are  among  the  more  common  devices  usually 
employed.  Obviously,  not  all  of  these  are  equally  objection¬ 
able.  For  example,  to  go  on  a  Chautauqua  circuit  certainly 
comports  more  with  the  dignity  of  the  ministry  than  to  pro¬ 
mote  the  sale  of  oil  or  mining  stocks.  There  is  great  need 
for  discrimination  in  these  matters.  The  following  observa¬ 
tions  would  seem  to  be  pertinent : 

(1)  The  Methodist  minister  has  taken  a  vow  “to  give 
himself  wholly  to  the  work  of  the  ministry.”  Whatever 
more  may  be  implied,  this  surely  means  that  he  shall  have 
an  undivided  mind  with  reference  to  his  work.  Anything 
which  seriously  diverts  his  attention  or  makes  large  de¬ 
mands  upon  his  time  and  strength  must  be  pushed  aside. 

(2)  While  the  church  is  obligated  to  provide  a  suitable 


302 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


support  for  the  minister  and  his  family,  it  cannot  be  ex¬ 
pected  to  do  more  than  this.  The  ministry  in  whatever  form 
must  never  become  attractive  by  virtue  of  financial  rewards. 
Its  large  compensations  must  ever  be  found  in  the  peculiar 
aims  and  satisfactions  of  the  work. 

(3)  There  would  seem  to  be  no  inherent  impropriety  in 
extra-ministerial  labor  along  kindred  lines,  such  as  writing 
or  lecturing,  provided  it  is  not  allowed  to  interfere  with 
one’s  main  task. 

(4)  In  the  event  that  a  minister  cannot  live  on  what  the 
church  will  pay  him  he  may  honorably  abandon  the  ministry 
for  commercial  pursuits,  but  he  may  not  follow  them  and 
continue  in  the  ministry  on  salary.  Secular  work  is  highly 
diverting  and  distracting.  Moreover,  the  best  conscience 
of  the  community  insists  that  if  the  minister  engages  in 
it  he  should  do  so  on  terms  of  equality  with  others.  He 
may  not  claim  a  subsidy  in  the  form  of  a  salary  for  reli¬ 
gious  work  and  then  enter  into  competition  with  those  who 
enjoy  no  such  advantage,  or,  perhaps,  have  helped  pro¬ 
vide  the  subsidy  for  him. 

(5)  The  minister  should  be  thrifty  so  far  as  lies  in  his 
power.  He  is  under  obligation  to  save  something  out  of 
his  salary  to  provide  comfort  in  old  age  or  to  protect  his 
family  in  case  of  death.  At  the  best  his  savings  will  be 
small.  It  is  imperative  then,  that  in  investing  them,  he  shall 
have  regard,  first,  for  the  safety  of  his  principal.  Less  than 
a  rich  man  can  he  afford  to  risk  his  all  in  questionable  ven¬ 
tures,  and  he  may  safely  assume  that  any  enterprise  is 
questionable  which  seeks  to  finance  itself  on  the  small  sav¬ 
ings  of  salaried  persons  by  the  promise  of  large  returns. 
If  it  were  a  good  investment ,  its  promoters  could  get  their 
capital  from  the  banks.  And  the  minister  cannot  afford 
to  invest  his  money  in  what  the  banks  consider  worthless. 
Life  insurance  is  the  wisest  investment  for  the  person  of 
small  salary.  In  case  of  early  death,  it  returns  many  times 
the  amount  paid  in  premiums,  while  if  one  lives  until  the 
policy  matures,  at  least  a  reasonable  interest  is  returned  for 


MINOR  MINISTERIAL  ETHICS 


303 


the  use  of  the  principal.  One  will  usually  be  very  wise  in 
refusing  to  invest  in  enterprises  which  promise  more  than 
five  and  a  half  or  six  per  cent.  It  is  the  part  of  wisdom  to 
consult  a  good  banker  before  making  an  investment. 

(6)  A  minister  as  agent  should  never  seek  to  influence 
others  in  making  investments.  Much  less  should  he  appeal 
to  the  religious  motive  to  risk  their  savings  in  highly  specu¬ 
lative  enterprises.  This  is  beneath  contempt.  For  similar 
exploitation  of  religious  instincts  and  institutions  in  the 
interest  of  personal  profit,  Jesus  became  greatly  angered  and 
drove  the  money-changers  from  the  Temple  with  a  heavy 
corded  whip.  And  honest  men  to-day  are  filled  with  a  sense 
of  outrage  at  such  abuse  of  ministerial  power. 

5.  Mendicancy.  The  mendicant-priest  and  the  begging- 
friar  are  familiar  figures  among  non-Christians  and  Catho¬ 
lics.  Theoretically,  Protestantism  makes  no  place  for  these 
professional  “holy  men”  with  their  ostentatious  poverty. 
But  as  a  matter  of  fact  the  spirit  of  mendicancy  obtrudes 
itself  under  all  forms  of  religion.  It  has  entered  into  the 
heart  of  every  one  who  finds  himself  asking  or  expecting 
favors  because  he  is  a  religious  worker  by  profession,  which 
he  never  would  receive  if  he  were  not.  Doubtless  all  are 
familiar  with  the  reasons  by  which  the  clergy  justify  (to 
their  own  satisfaction)  the  custom  of  accepting  presents, 
discounts,  and  special  consideration  of  all  kinds.  But  the 
fact  remains  that  the  finest  spirits  in  the  ministry  have  ever 
heard  with  whole-hearted  approval  Jesus’  injunction  to  the 
twelve,  “Take  no  wallet  [begging  bowl].”11  Phillips 
Brooks  exclaims  bravely,  “That  which  ought  to  be  the  man¬ 
liest  of  all  professions  has  a  tendency,  practically,  to  make 
men  unmanly.  Men  make  appeals  for  sympathy  that  no 
true  man  should  make.  They  take  to  themselves  Saint 
Paul’s  pathos  without  Saint  Paul’s  strength.  Against  that 
tendency,  my  friends,  set  your  whole  force.”12  Perhaps  a 

1JLuke  9.  3. 

12By  permission  from  Lectures  on  Preaching,  p.  68f.  Copyright 
by  E.  P.  Dutton  and  Company. 


304 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


better  support  for  the  ministry  awaits  the  coming  of  a 
generation  of  preachers  who  will  refuse  to  accept  gratuities 
as  a  substitute  for  a  fair  salary. 

6.  Laziness.  This  may  be  physical,  but  it  is  more  likely 
to  be  intellectual.  In  the  interest  of  comfort  there  is  a 
pronounced  disinclination  to  wrestle  manfully  with  the  prob¬ 
lems  of  thought  which  arise  in  religion.  Some  make  them¬ 
selves  think  they  are  too  busy  to  study — as  if  one  could 
ever  be  excused  for  neglecting  the  principal  task  because 
of  any  number  of  lesser  ones.  Intellectual  apathy  may  go  hand 
in  hand  with  physical  vigor.  The  man  who  likes  to  work  in 
the  garden  may  put  in  time  there  which  properly  belongs  to 
his  books.  Moreover,  his  delight  in  human  companionship 
may  smother  mental  and  spiritual  culture.  Under  a  pretext 
of  social  sympathy  which  takes  him  among  the  people  he 
shirks  the  hard  and  lonely  tasks  of  study  and  reflection. 

7.  Improper  Speech.  “Sin  not  with  thy  tongue!”  should 
be  written  in  bold  letters  above  the  study  table  of  every 
minister.  It  includes  every  sort  of  improper  utterance: 
ungenerous  and  gossipy  speech  about  one’s  brother  minis¬ 
ters,  inane  story-telling  and  jesting,  “smart”  sayings  which 
rankle  and  sting,  as  well  as  vulgarity  and  obscenity.  Espe¬ 
cially  should  the  ecclesiastical  buffoon  be  on  his  guard — the 
man  who  is  full  of  Bible  jokes.  The  hot  wrath  of  Phillips 
Brooks  blazes  forth  on  all  such.  “There  are  passages  in 
the  Bible  which  are  soiled  forever  by  the  touches  which  the 
hands  of  ministers  who  delight  in  cheap  and  easy  jokes 
have  left  upon  them.  I  think  there  is  nothing  that  stirs  one’s 
indignation  more  than  this,  in  all  he  sees  of  ministers.  It 
is  a  purely  wanton  fault.  What  is  simply  stupid  every¬ 
where  else  becomes  terrible  here.”13 

8.  Covetousness.  The  tenth  commandment  in  the  Deca¬ 
logue  (against  covetousness)  should  have  a  conspicuous 
place  in  any  rules  laid  down  for  the  conduct  of  ministers, 


l3By  permission  from  Lectures  on  Preaching,  p.  54.  Copyright  by 
E.  P.  Dutton  and  Company. 


MINOR  MINISTERIAL  ETHICS 


305 


amended,  of  course,  to  suit  an  ecclesiastical  situation.  Who 
has  not  met  the  minister  who  was  envious  of  the  esteem 
in  which  his  predecessor  is  held?  or  who  was  jealous  of  his 
successor  for  captivating  so  readily  the  hearts  of  a  former 
congregation  ?  or  who  was  so  intent  upon  getting  into  a  gen¬ 
eral  office  or  a  traveling  secretaryship  that  he  neglected  his 
pastoral  work?  This  is  responsible  for  all  that  is  offensive 
in  “ecclesiastical  politics” — unashamed  and  immodest  self- 
seeking  for  ecclesiastical  preferment.  There  is  not  so  much 
of  it  as  is  supposed,  but  more  than  should  be.  A  highly  cen¬ 
tralized  form  of  church  government,  which  requires  a  large 
number  of  general  officers,  may  make  it  easy  for  men  to 
sin  in  this  way.  But  the  best  conscience  of  the  church  in¬ 
sists  that  anyone  is  disqualified  for  its  high  offices  who  self- 
assertively  offers  himself  as  a  candidate  or  is  active  in 
promoting  his  own  cause,  whether  he  be  a  minister  or  a 
layman.  The  one  serious  criticism  that  may  be  made  against 
our  form  of  church  government  is  that  the  administrative 
office  is  magnified  above  all  others,  and  constantly  operates 
to  create  dissatisfaction  with  the  pastorate.  If  the  pastorate 
could  be  restored  in  the  consciousness  of  the  church  to  the 
place  of  primacy  among  church  offices,  and  the  administra¬ 
tive  office  really  be  regarded  as  secondary,  and  so  rewarded, 
covetousness  might  not  disappear  entirely  but  its  forms  cer¬ 
tainly  would  be  greatly  modified. 

9.  Relations  With  Women.  The  most  tragic  experi¬ 
ence  that  can  come  to  a  church  is  to  have  its  pastor  dis¬ 
credited  because  of  immoral  relations  with  women.  Com¬ 
paratively  few  ministers  are  unfaithful  at  this  point — so  few 
that  the  story  of  such  a  fall  is  told  on  the  front  page  of 
every  important  newspaper  on  the  continent,  though  he  may 
have  been  previously  the  most  obscure  of  men.  Neverthe¬ 
less,  this  type  of  delinquency  is  common  enough  to  warrant 
particular  mention  in  this  chapter. 

At  two  periods  in  his  life  a  man  may  be  in  imminent  peril 
from  sexual  appetite — once  in  youth  before  he  has  come 
to  understand  fully  the  significance  of  manhood,  and  again 


3°6 


THE  PASTORAL  OFFICE 


in  middle  age  when,  weary  of  life’s  prosaic  responsibilities, 
the  desire  for  romance  flares  up  and  tempts  him  to  relieve 
the  tedium  of  commonplace  days  by  irresponsible  adventure. 
It  is  in  the  second  of  these  periods  that  the  minister  is  most 
likely  to  fall,  for  the  first  will  have  passed  as  a  rule  before 
he  has  begun  his  professional  career;  and  if  it  had  not 
passed  without  serious  mishap,  he  would  not  have  been  ad¬ 
mitted  to  the  ministry.  In  the  later  period  his  danger  may 
be  increased  by  a  false  sense  of  security  growing  out  of  his 
paternal  relation  to  his  own  household.  His  fatherly  con¬ 
sciousness  may  lead  him  to  be  more  familiar  with  all  women 
than  he  was  as  a  younger  man.  And  if,  unfortunately,  mis¬ 
understanding  has  arisen  between  himself  and  wife,  leaving 
him  to  crave  a  sympathy  which  he  thinks  she  does  not  give, 
the  peril  is  still  further  magnified. 

Two  types  of  women  may  shake  his  self-control  at  this 
time ;  one  is  a  young  woman,  attractive  in  personality  and 
mystical  in  temperament,  who  may  be  very  active  in  church 
work  and  thus  thrown  much  in  the  pastor’s  company.  Her 
interest  in  the  things  he  counts  most  worth  while  may  lead 
quite  innocently  on  her  part  to  an  interest  in  herself  which 
neither  intended.  If  both  are  strong,  they  will  remain  mas¬ 
ters  of  themselves.  If  either  is  weak,  disaster  may  follow. 
The  other  is  a  middle-aged  woman  who  shares  with  him  the 
desire  for  romantic  adventure  which  experience  does  not 
gratify  in  middle  life.  She  too  is  likely  to  be  physically  at¬ 
tractive,  religious  by  temperament,  and  will  come  into  fre¬ 
quent  contact  with  him  in  doing  the  work  of  the  church. 
But  life  will  have  taught  her  so  much  that  innocence  can 
never  be  affirmed  of  her  relation  to  the  matter  any  more 
than  of  his.  Of  course  a  younger  minister,  especially  if  he 
is  unmarried,  is  not  free  from  danger,  but  the  fact  that  most 
preachers  who  fall  thus  are  between  thirty-five  and  fifty 
years  old  suggests  that  the  middle-aged  man  should  be  par¬ 
ticularly  on  his  guard. 

In  his  relations  with  women,  then,  the  minister  should 
have  strict  regard  for  the  following  considerations: 


MINOR  MINISTERIAL  ETHICS 


307 


a.  Cultivate  the  habit  of  a  cleayi  imagination.  No  sin  of 
this  kind  is  ever  committed  without  some  degree  of  pre¬ 
meditation.  Unclean  thinking  is  always  antecedent  to 
unclean  living.  Behavior  only  reveals  wThat  has  long  been 
hidden  in  the  “chambers  of  imagery.” 

b.  Discipline  the  physical  instincts  by  vigorous  physical 
living.  A  young  man  is  often  in  less  danger  than  a  middle- 
aged  man  because  he  is  more  active.  Blood  running  fast 
and  full  of  oxygen  from  exercise  makes  for  pure  thinking. 
David  was  betrayed  into  his  sin  with  Bathsheba  after  he 
had  given  up  the  active  life  of  camp  and  field  for  the  passive 
life  of  court  and  palace.  And  many  another  man  has  gone 
wrong  after  he  dropped  into  the  sluggish  physical  habits 
of  the  forties  and  fifties. 

c.  In  the  matter  of  physical  contacts,  the  minister  should 
govern  himself  with  the  greatest  restraint  outside  his  own 
family  circle.  There  is  no  conceivable  emergency  that  can 
arise  in  pastoral  or  social  relations  -which  will  give  any 
warrant  for  sentimentally  putting  one’s  hand  on  a  woman 
or  otherwise  coming  into  close  bodily  contact.  And  even  to 
take  her  hand  in  both  one’s  own  in  shaking  hands  is  an  ex¬ 
hibition  of  bad  manners  that  is  open  to  serious  criticism. 

d.  Let  him  cherish  constantly  a  sense  of  his  responsibil¬ 
ity  for  the  spiritual  and  moral  well-being  of  all  in  the 
community.  So  he  will  have  a  care  that  none  are  destroyed 
through  his  bad  example. 

e.  Let  him  be  sensible  of  his  own  everlasting  need  of 
divine  grace.  Let  him,  like  Saint  Paul,  live  in  holy  fear  of 
failing  to  exemplify  in  his  own  life  the  gospel  he  preaches 
to  others.  “I  buffet  my  body,  and  bring  it  into  bondage : 
lest  by  any  means,  after  that  I  have  preached  to  others,  I 
myself  should  be  rejected”  (1  Cor.  9.  27). 


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